Part 19

Happy birthday, Ann Sakura.

After blowing out the candle, I turned on the desk lamp on the far end of the reading table. A piece of black forest cake, already cut into three pieces, was waiting there under the lamplight.

Ann: (It's pretty late. I'll only have one piece, for now.)

With one hand I put down the candle, and with the other I flicked my phone's screen open, and sent grateful responses to the classmates who'd sent me happy birthday messages.

Every since my parents had passed away of natural causes, I'd grown used to celebrating my birthday on my own. There wasn't much of a reason for it; I just felt like it suited me more, this way.

I licked at the bits of chocolate left on the fork, letting the familiar sweetness spread throughout my mouth. Ever since I'd moved here when I was five years old, I'd always have a black forest cake from one of the local stores on my birthday.

Today was the thirteenth time I'd gotten to enjoy its taste as a private pleasure, which was to say that today, I was seventeen. I was halfway through my life's course.

I leaned back in my chair, looking at the glass bottle that was filled with micrometeorites. But I couldn't imagine giving the bottle to anybody, the way my mother had done before.

Ann: (Let's see how things play out, I guess.)

Female Student: Ann, good morning.

Female Student: I forgot to tell you yesterday, making up for it now- happy birthday!

Ann: Thanks.

Ann: Right, before, you said you wanted to go traveling in Malaysia next break, right?

Female Student: Hm? Did I ever bring that up with you before? But- oh, actually, Ann, you've seen the news from yesterday as well, right?

Female Student: On the Japan-Malaysia airline route, yet another pilot has come down with Hive Amnesia Syndrome!

She exaggeratedly lowered her head in disappointment. After all, because of this, the airline would surely cancel those flights, and that meant that if she still wanted to go to Malaysia she'd have to go through a lot of hoops to change planes.

Female Student: Luckily, when the pilot lost consciousness, the plane was over the ocean, and before the plane completely crashed he was able to regain consciousness and force a controlled water landing.

I nodded. The rain that the Mother of Humanity had called down to protect humankind had created significant problems for many aspects of modern society. Who knew when she'd cease her actions and accept that humanity could face the things that it could not understand.

Female Student: But we don't seem to have had anybody here come down with Hive Amnesia yet. If we have to catch it, I hope I catch it while we're in class, so I can just wake up and find that classes are already over.

Ann: Well, from what I remember, only 5% of people in the whole world have gotten Hive Amnesia so far. If we're lucky, we probably won't catch it during our lifetimes.

Female Student: Oh, really? Ann, you sure do know a lot of interesting facts.

Ann: Well, they talk about things like that on the television, ahah.

I patted her on the shoulder, as if to commiserate with her, and she started laughing with me.

Ann: (Oho. Last she played together with a classmate from the classroom across the hall from us deep into the night before she snuck back home, did she.)

Holding my chin, I thought about making fun of her about it before class started, but I was interrupted by a sudden loud electronic buzzing coming from the windows, shaking my ears.

At the same time, the rain began pouring down.

I turned to look outside the window. A giant green gelatinous object was lying on the math building, and seemed to be slowly moving in the direction of the city.

For some reason, it surface seemed to diffract the light, and indistinct spectra of color seemed to radiate from it.

Female Student: W-what is that...

Ann: Looks like you're about to get what you wished for.

I helped settle her into a comfortable lying position on the desk, and then lazily stretched, as I listened to the sounds of distant explosions and the sound of sirens alarms from all kinds of vehicles.

Ann: (This is probably the peak. Probably a lot of car accidents have just happened- there probably weren't many drivers who got enough warning to be able to brake their cars.)

Ann: (I guess we'll see how many of them were willing to buy the specific countermeasures for Hive Amnesia Syndrome.)

I took out my phone, and carefully tiptoed out of the classroom, trying not to step on any of the students who were sleeping all over the floor.

I've never actually been in an incident myself. For a moment I didn't know what to do. After all, I'd only ever been in the position of an observer before.

I quickly made the decision to go to the rooftop, since I'd heard that only humans and objects created by humans got wet in the Rains.

If I walked about in the rains, the raindrops would avoid me, as though the Mother of Humanity didn't like the cut of my jib for whatever reason.

Ann: (What a cheapskate.)

As I thought about the ridiculous expression that the Mother of Humanity's face would make when she became irritated, I couldn't help but laugh out loud and walk just a little bit faster.

Outside the door was the heavy sound of rain. That was something that the Mother's Rains had in common with the natural sounds of rainfall that I loved so much.

I stuck out my arms further, letting my sleeves enter the rain too.

Would the clothes on me get wet, even if my own self couldn't?

It turned out that the Mother wanted to be nowhere near me, and that apparently included my clothes, as well, which remained completely dry.

Ann: (The Mother of Humanity's little bugs sure are clever.)

After all, besides me, everybody in the city is in the middle of a dream, right now.

It took me all of a few dozen seconds for me to get bored, so I stopped moving around madly, and instead headed to the other side of the roof to see just what that big green ooze thing was up to.

But when I turned around, I froze and my cheeks flushed red,

Because there was a female student standing on the edge of the rooftop fence, watching me. She'd probably seen my entire wild performance just now.

But, something wasn't quite right. Watching her, I felt a sense of incongruity- but at the same time I was pulled in by her.

This attraction was so full of vitality, I even experienced a state of altered perception, where everything around us had completely disappeared, and it was just me and her in a pure white world.

If I just raised my hand, I could pull her into my embrace. If I took a single step, I could be right besides her, my breaths close enough to touch her cheek, and then I could begin to get to know her in a deeper and more intimate way than any human being could ever try to approach...

But, this attraction wasn't borne of any sort of emotion. Rather, it was more like I was bound to try to come closer to her on some instinctive level.

So I followed my instincts, because I've always done so.

I stood up straight, and stepped towards her with my usual refined gait. I came closer and closer, but when I was close enough to see her expression, I found I didn't dare come any closer.

Because, she was clearly completely awake, and she was staring straight at me- and yet, her body was completely soaked by the rains.

Ah. Now I understood where my attraction to her was coming from.

Ann: Hello, beloved child of the Mother of Humanity. My name is Ann Sakura.

Ann: Hello, beloved child of the Mother of Humanity. My name is Ann Sakura.

Ann: From your perspective, I suppose you could call me an extraterrestrial.

The Beloved Child's hair was drenched by the rainwater, and dangled in wet strands all over her face, making it hard for me to read her expression. At the same time, I was worried that the sound of the rain was also covering up my voice.

She made no response to my greeting, and turned as though to leave, so I immediately rushed in close and grabbed her wrist.

After hesitating half a second, I chose not to use Recall on her.

After hesitating half a second, I chose not to use Recall on her.

Even though, with other people, touching them and then using Recall to quickly view their entire life history was one of the greatest little pleasures of my existence, I didn't want to do such a thing to her.

After I grabbed her wrist, she pulled away and began struggling against me. Her hair shook with her movements, allowing me to see her rain-stained face.

Ann: Ran Ibuki?

I couldn't help but exclaim her name in surprise. Ran Ibuki had become infamous in the school as soon as she'd transferred in. There were rumors that she was from another country, and that she wasn't mentally well.

But I'd had the chance to interact with her a few times before this, and I hadn't detected anything in her that was out of the ordinary.

I let go of her wrist, and Ran immediately pulled her hand to her chest, and stared nervously at me, shuffling her feet and starting to shy away from me.

Ann: (So that's how it is... The previous Beloved Child must have perished, then. What even is the Mother of Humanity up to with all this.)

Ann: Let's get back inside for now. I'd be ashamed of myself if I just let you sit outside in the rain by yourself.

Ran Ibuki remained silent, turning to look in the gelatinous green shape's direction.

Ann: Don't worry about that big thing. I just used my Recall on it. It's just a big mass of solidified subsonic vibrations, it'll disappear on its own in a few hours.

I tried taking Ran Ibuki's hand again. This time, she didn't resist me.

Ran: ...Do you understand these things?

Ann: Mhm, I do. From the perspective of the Mother of Humanity, I'm the exact same as that thing.

Ran: And here I thought only I could see them.

Ran: So, the fish and the flowers crawling over my arm, can you see those too?

I looked down. Clearly there was nothing on Ran's arm. It was only now that I remembered that, according to the rumors, part of Ran Ibuki's mental illness was that she'd occasionally shout and scream in the middle of class, and start speaking nonsense.

It seemed like she suffered from a psychological condition that caused her to hallucinate. There probably wasn't a good answer for me to give her.

Ann: I don't see them. They're your hallucinations.

Ran: So you're here to trick me as well!

Shouting, she pulled her arm free from my grasp and turned to run.

Ran: You were the one who was shouting nasty things at me from the road yesterday too, weren't you?! Why did you have to do that?! I just couldn't solve the last problem, why did you have to shout at me?!

She pulled at her own hair with her hands, and dashed off towards the roof entrance. She didn't make it two steps before she tripped over her own feet and fell to the floor.

I immediately rushed over and helped her up, letting her lean on my shoulders.

When Ran Ibuki's rain-soaked sleeves touched me, all the moisture immediately fled from me like a hive of panicked ants, scattering away in all directions.

I took off my jacket and started wiping Ran's hair with it. Just like before, at the touch of my jacket, all the moisture in Ran's hair fled, leaving her hair thoroughly and easily dried.

She let me do as I pleased as I cleaned her hair. This close to her, it was actually kind of addicting.

Ran: What is the Mother of Humanity?

Ann: Are you willing to listen, now?

Ann: Well, basically, the Mother of Humanity is the earth itself. She has her own consciousness, and wants to protect you humans. That's pretty much about it.

Ran: I don't understand.

Ann: Well, I don't really know her very well, either! She's been alive for, what, 4.6 billion years, now? If I had to Recall all of that I'm pretty sure I'd die.

Ran: Then why did you act like a know-it-all, using all those terms I didn't understand, back there.

Ann: What did you not understand?

Ran: All that about... being the beloved child of the mother or what the hell ever.

Ann: Well, I don't exactly know everything about that, either? I've only been able to observe in my recalls. They say that the Beloved Child is like the Mother of Humanity, and that they can control every aspect about the earth at will.

Ran: So why did you say I was this child or whatever-

Ann: Hang up, I need to wipe off your feet, let me take your shoes off first.

Ann: Anyways, to answer your question, I knew because you stayed awake despite being drenched by the rain.

Ann: Basically, when a human being sees a supernatural phenomenon or entity, the whole region will begin to rain, and then all humans within that region will fall unconscious, and also lose their memories before and after the incident. The rain itself will avoid the supernatural phenomenon in question.

Ann: The definition of 'supernatural' is defined by the Mother. Just assume that she designed this system for the sake of protecting humanity, basically.

Ran: But it rains normally too, doesn't it.

I nodded, and then helped her put on her shoes, and then moved positions and started working on her other leg.

Ann: That's right. Not all rains are Rains of the Mother.

Ann: Today's Rain was actually a swarm of transparent liquid organisms that enter the brains of humans and devour their memories. It's a bit like they're parasitizing humanity, actually. Doesn't hearing that make you start to think that your own brain has become your enemy, now?

Ran: Then we'll just have to become organisms that think with every cell in our bodies, I suppose.

The fact that Ran had followed my reference excited me so much that I accidentally pinched her thigh with my hand. Ran immediately shied away and looked warily at me.

Ann: Which is why WE should become friends!

Ran, distrustful of strangers: Why?

Ann: Well, you need me to help you deal with all the supernatural stuff that's going to come after you eventually, and I'd like to make a friend that I can actually talk about these things with. After all, if I talked about this with any of the humans around me, it'd definitely cause the Rain to start falling.

My finger slid down her leg, until it reached the center of the palm of her foot, where I knew her tickling weak-spot was.

Ann: Let's get along with each other starting now, okay, Ibuki?

She didn't answer me, and rather turned her head away, avoiding eye-contact with me. But I didn't want her to refuse me, and so I could only start thinking, trying to come up with something to say that'd bring the two of us closer together...

Ran: ...Well, after you finish wiping my feet...

I hadn't expected Ran to speak first.

Ran: ...Could you do my back as well? Sakura.

What Ran wanted to express with that statement was self-evident, and a smile blossomed on my face in response.

Ann: Of course! No problem!

Ann: Ibuki, let's walk together now that school's out!

Ann: Oh, Ibuki, what a coincidence! Your class has swimming lessons today too?

Ann: Ibuki, what would you like to have? I'll foot the bill!

Ann: Ibuki, after school, we should go and-

Ran: Sakura, you're such a pain in the ass.

I'd known Ran Ibuki for about three months at this point, and during this time she hadn't shown any serious symptoms of her illness. It was indeed as I'd expected; she'd had to stabilize her mental state through therapy before she was allowed to come back to school.

Auditory hallucinations remained consistent, though. She often told me that people were bullying her, or that people were quietly scheming to hurt her.

But based on what I knew- and I knew a lot of things about the students- there were no incidents of bullying in the whole school, and to her classmates, rather than seeing Ibuki as a convenient victim, most of them were more afraid of Ibuki than Ibuki was of them.

After all, she always had this devil-may-care loner attitude about her, and whenever she was around me she was always acting like she was constantly tired of me. But in reality, she was all bark and no bite- whenever I proposed that we go somewhere together or do something together, she'd never actually put up any real opposition to my plans.

I actually quite liked the way that Ran was always so mean-mouthed and superficially abrasive, but actually completely well-behaved and obedient whenever I said anything. It was quite cute!

Ann: Oh, come on, you love it when I 'annoy' you by hanging out with you. It's not like you've got any friends but me anyways.

Ran: I- I do so have friends. I have Aya at home, and there's Koizumi-sensei at school...

The Ran Ibuki who was tripping over her own words after I'd tripped her up was also very adorable as well.

Ann: Well, one of them is basically your adoptive mother, and the other one's a teacher at your school. Face it, that doesn't count.

Ran: Ugh- Sakura, you're so fucking annoying!

Ibuki repeated her words, and then kept scarfing down the bento I'd made for her anyways. Clearly she couldn't be that mad at me.

Ann: After school's over, come over to my house today.

Ran: Why? I don't want to. You've been making me go out with you to all sorts of places every single afternoon recently. I want to go home earlier today.

Ibuki started pacing back and forth in front of my bookshelf as soon as she'd gotten to my room. I knew that she enjoyed reading a lot- particularly detective novels.

So I didn't plan on interrupting her. I figured I'd let her satisfy herself before I talked to her.

Ann: (I should buy some detective novels in the future too, otherwise I won't be able to keep up when she talks about them.)

Ran: Sakura, do you not have any nonfiction books?

Ibuki's question surprised me a bit. Most people wouldn't notice details like that, and while I was buying books I hadn't even considered whether they were fiction or nonfiction.

Ann: I guess not?

I stood up and approached the bookcase as well, sweeping the various fiction novels and fantasy comics with my eyes. Put simply, every single book on the bookshelf was something invented by an author, rather than something that happened in reality.

Ann: But I mean, that's normal, isn't it. Would most people buy the biographies of famous people, or books about historical events, or something?

Ran: People like you, who have a whole bookshelf full of books? Most likely, yeah, they'd have at least one or two nonfiction books.

I nodded. I supposed that it was the Recalls causing me to subconsciously avoid nonfiction books. After all, I could view as many things that happened in reality as I wanted.

Ran: Ah, this book!

Ran: Sakura, see, you do have a nonfiction book here. Have you read this one?

The book she was holding was named <Memories of the Kanto Earthquake>. The author was someone named Shirohana Yanagiwara.

Ann: Oh, yes, I've read it. The true name of the author was... Tama Indou, right?

Ran nodded.

Ran: I like this book a lot. Sakura, how'd you come upon this book? This is the only nonfiction book you've got in your whole bookshelf, isn't it?

Ann: Honestly, I don't even remember buying this book.

Ann: Anyways, since we're already here, we might as well get to the point.

I pulled open the stopper to the bottle, and poured a few of the meteorites out. The sound they made as they splashed out across my desk sounded a lot like raindrops falling on an umbrella, which I liked a lot.

Ann: These are meteorites from my homeworld. They landed on the Earth along with us, and we kept them as a memento, I guess. My ancestors have kept and passed them down through the generations, and ultimately my mother passed them into my hands.

Ran picked up one of the stones and inspected it closely, not making a sound.

Ann: After we arrived on the Earth, the Mother of Humanity appeared before us. She greatly disliked us beings who looked like humans on the outside but who had completely different compositions on the inside.

Ann: But we weren't invaders, or anything. We just wanted to find a place to live. So we kept pretending to be earthlings, and survived all the way to the present day!

Ran: How about your parents?

I picked up a meteorite and held it in my palm. I could see my parents' faces whenever I wanted, by using Recall on any one of the meteorites.

Ann: Our lifespan is only 40 years long. They passed away when they were thirty-something. I don't have any evidence, but I think that it's some kind of poison that the Mother of Humanity has stealthily dosed us with.

Ran: What, you could live a lot longer before?

Ann: Well, no. We always were limited to a lifespan of 40 years. But the ability that every one of us had, to use Recall- that disappeared slowly, over time. Like, as an example, since about a thousand years ago, our tribespeople started losing the power to Recall at the age of 30.

Ann: And nowadays, my mother lost her power to Recall when she reached the age of 18.

Ran: So you...

Ann: I'll probably lose the power of Recall sometime next year! Once that happens I'll just be a perfectly normal earthling with a slightly shorter lifespan than usual, I guess. Perhaps that's the Mother of Humanity's plan to turn us all into earthlings eventually, ahaha.

I laughed and stretched my back. Ibuki's expression was even more serious than I'd anticipated. I wish I knew which aspect of the situation she was most worried about.

Ann: I'm not worried about if I can use the power of Recall or not. Because of how short our lifespans are, our people generally tend to live their lives in one of two ways.

Ann: One of those ways is to struggle their whole lives, not wasting a fraction of a single second, reaching out and trying to experience the entirety of the world with our power before we lose it. The other kind is like me- we figure, since we're not long for the world, we might as well just live however we like.

Ann: Oh, but, my mother told me, that we all shared a tendency in common.

I reached out and pulled that copy of Memories of the Kanto Earthquake back to myself.

Ann: At a certain stage in our lives, we all discover, 'ah, this is the meaning of my life, this is the reason why I live', and then we embark on a journey, to find some way to extend our limited lifespans, so that we can fulfill our life's meaning.

Ran: So you've figured out the meaning of your life, then?

I shook my head, tapping the book with a finger.

Ann: Absolutely not. I feel like it really doesn't matter at all when I die. There's nothing that I have to stay alive to do, or anything that I have to stay alive to witness.

Ann: But my parents, after meeting each other, came to the decision that their lives' meanings were each other, and they embarked on their journey to find a way to be able to spend more time together. Of course, they failed. None of our race have ever succeeded in finding a way to extend their lifespans.

Ann: That's why, after I heard that this book was about how the author treated another person as the meaning to her life, and how she was able to use this as motivation even after she lost that person, I decided to buy it to see if it could inspire me. But after reading it...

I shrugged, to indicate that I hadn't really gotten much of value out of the book.

Ran, morosely: And here I thought that you were enjoying the time you were spending with me.

I blinked. No matter how often she showed that kind of expression, I always thought that Ibuki sure was cute, every single time.

Ann: Well, of course I'm having fun! But making just 'having fun' into the meaning of your existence, to the point where it transforms the way in which you live- that's a bit tough.

Ann: But, I'm pretty happy that I could come to know you before becoming a short-lived earthling. Maybe the fact that I can rest easy and not worry about when my life will come to an end is all because of you.

I took Ran's shoulders. She didn't resist me, and took the opportunity to lean into my lap.

Ann: Plus, you're the Beloved Child of the Mother. I'm very lucky that I was able to meet you at all.

Ran: And if I weren't, would you not want to be my friend, then?

Oh, now that was a real hardball question. I scrunched up my face, trying my best to look tormented by the question, and answered.

Ann: Probably... we'd still be friends? Because right now you look pretty much indistinguishable from a regular human, and you don't seem much like any of the other Beloved Children I've seen in my Recalls before, where all sorts of supernatural things were coming out of the woodwork to pick a bone with the Beloved Child.

Ann: For all I know, maybe you're just an ordinary earthling, and I'm totally wrong that you're the Beloved Child. But even if that's so, I'd still like to be with you, so even if you weren't the Beloved Child, I'd still be your friend.

Of course, Ibuki was definitely the Beloved Child. The fact that she'd gotten drenched by the rain that day was incontrovertible proof.

Ran: Well, alright, then. You've only got until the age of 40, anyways, so I don't mind spending the next twenty years with you, I guess.

Ann: Oh, excellent. Looks like I can rest easy and retire early.

Ran: Next time, you should come to our house. I want you to meet Miho and Aya.

I nodded, with anticipation sprouting in my heart.

Miho: Ran's been reminding us all day these days about how you're planning to come over as a guest, so we wouldn't forget.

Miho spoke while she was in the middle of scooping food onto Ran's plate.

She was very beautiful, and her words and motions very refined. The fact that Ran was able to enjoy a highly sanitary environment even after she fell ill was surely in no small part due to miss Miho's efforts.

And when she smiled, the dimples by her eyes would lift upwards slightly, catching my attention.

Aya: See, I told you she was bringing her girlfriend back, even though Ran kept denying it.

Miss Toyama took off the apron, and carried the newly finished curry chicken to the dining table. I'd heard that she was responsible for the cooking in their household.

She didn't look the part. Miss Toyama looked charismatic, like the kind of person who'd be popular with the ladies. She wasn't short, and the ponytail she wore gave a handsome cast to her features, despite her face seeming youthful to the point of childishness. She looked less like the household cook and more like the person that the household cook was supposed to make treats for.

And I couldn't help but notice the choker around her neck. Ibuki had told me that Aya was in a rock-and-roll band, which was why she wore it, but when I learned that it was miss Miho who'd bought her the choker in the first place, I concluded that she was probably wearing it more for personal reasons. Very personal, if you catch what I mean.

I couldn't help but imagine how, if I bought one of them for Ibuki, she'd probably awkwardly try to refuse it for a while, before ultimately acceeding to my desires and putting it on anyways. Hee hee hee.

Ann: Ibuki often tells me about the two of you as well. She's told me about how the two of you are the only people in the world who truly love her and who wouldn't abandon her no matter what.

Aya: Oh, wow, for reals? Ran, did you actually say something so adorable to your girlfriend?

Ann: Nah, I made it up.

Ran jostled me with her elbow. I didn't know what she meant by it. After all, she had in fact said those exact words to me.

Ann: But I'm sure she was thinking it in her heart.

Miho: Don't worry, we all know how Ran feels about us. You should see the way she demands that we spoil her when it's just the three of us.

Yeah, I could definitely imagine Ran demanding to be spoiled with affection.

Miho: It's good that she was smart. Even though her illness made it hard for her to concentrate, she was still able to test into her current highschool. We'd originally thought it would be a good opportunity for her to make some friends of the same age, but she still had quite a tough time during freshman year.

I'd heard of that period of time in Ran's life as well, in passing. Back then, Ran's classmates had held serious prejudices against her- and not because of her illness, but rather because of her nationality.

Ran: ...Even now, I still feel like Koizumi-sensei's the only good teacher I've ever met...

But that wasn't something for me to interfere with.

Aya: Okay, that's enough about the unhappy past. We're all past that, now! And now Ran-chan has you to help support her as well, Ann.

Aya: Ann looks pretty mature. With you around I'm sure that Ran-chan will be fine!

Well, due to the Recalls, I did in fact have a lot more life experience than most others around me. But 'mature'...

I lifted my hand and experimentally touched my face. Relative to earthlings, I did experience an increased rate of senescence. I hoped that wasn't what miss Toyama had meant...

Miho: Ran, why're you so quiet today?

Ran: Nothing, I just wanted Ann and you and Aya to chat more...

Ann: Ooh, are you nervous?

Ran, nervously: Why would I be nervous in my own home!

Whoops, I couldn't help but mess with her again. But I know how she's feeling. She must be very curious about how the people who care about her will get on with each other- how well her adoptive mothers and I will get along.

Ann: Well, you should talk more, then. I want to see how you act when you're at home.

Miho: Ran's very well-behaved. I've been working from home lately, and during that time, Ran has frequently made tea for us or helped rub our shoulders to relieve stress.

Aya: Oh, sure. But also she's a giiiiiaaaaaant baaaaaaby. She always wants huuuuuugs and will keep pestering you for hugs until she receives them huggies.

Ran: I don't... I... That's normal, isn't it??

Ann: Oho.

Ran Ibuki is so cute aaaaaaa

Miho: Speaking of which- lately, our office has been considering having everyone work from home, due to an increased prevalence of Hive Amnesia incidents around here.

Miho: You two make sure to be careful when you're going to school, too. Try to walk on the safer paths further from the roads. Otherwise, if a driver suddenly comes down with the syndrome, it might be dangerous.

I nodded, and wondered to myself whether the Rains would come if Ibuki, the Beloved Child, brought up anything about the supernatural to humans around her.

If at all possible, I would have loved to be able to explain my identity to them, and explain that Ibuki was destined to lead a difficult life, and that I would do my best to protect Ibuki from those difficulties until I passed away myself.

Ann: Mm. Ibuki and I take the same path to school. So I promise that I'll take care of her.

Ann: If anybody would know, it would be you, as the Beloved Child, or the Mother of Humanity herself. I certainly don't have any ideas.

Ann: But it's fine for things to stay the way they are with them, I think. After all, in the future, you'll definitely need people who don't know about all those strange things to care for you, to be the safe harbour in which you can hide from the storm.

Ann: I'd rather not. Rather than learn everything about you in one go, I'd rather take it slow, and... get to know you one bit at a time.

Ann: Don't worry. The Earth's a huge place, and the number of people who run into supernatural phenomena and then actually suffer any danger from them is vanishingly tiny. Most of those supernatural phenomena are like me- just trying to eke out a living on this planet.

Ran: Really? Okay, I'll listen to you, then.

After speaking, Ran stretched her hand out to me.

Ran: Have you ever used Recall on me?

I shook my head.

Ran: Then hold my hand. I want you, like Miho and Aya, to be able to... understand me.

I held Ibuki with my hands, but I didn't use Recall.

Ann: Because Recalls are so interconnected that, with just a bit of focus, I can jump to pretty much anything I care to know about, much like how if I recalled this table here I'd learn about everybody who's ever walked past or sat down at this table,

Ann: I want to treasure this feeling that makes me want to understand you more.

I could feel a small trembling in the palms of my hands. Ibuki nodded, and showed me a rare smile- an expression which truly touched my heart.

But for some reason, I felt like it wasn't the part of my heart that elicited a positive reaction. Perhaps I enjoyed the Ibuki who was making confused and disturbed expressions more? Well, it was her fault for looking so cute with those expressions on her face, anyways.

Ran: Alright, then. I guess I'll just have to bring you to slowly understand me, the long way around.

Female Student: Ann! Have you heard?

Ann: What?

Female Student: Koizumi-sensei got let go from the school!

I knew exactly how Ran would react once she heard the rumors going around.

I had to find her immediately and be with her. If the situation went badly or if anybody wanted to hinder me, then I'd take out the bottled Eclipse Worm that I kept on me for emergencies like this, and break it, and summon the Rains.

Ann: Ran!

Ran: Everyone knows I did it, they repeated clearly to me the words I said to Koizumi-sensei..

Ran: Even the tables knew. The tables spoke as well.

Ann: Ran, calm down, it's not your fault-

Ran: Ann, I can hear Koizumi-sensei crying. Is she right behind me?

I was worried that any sound at all would become another torment for Ran, at that point, so I didn't say anything at all, and just dragged her to the nurse's office instead.

I sat by the side of the bed, holding Ran's hand tightly. In my heart, I understood clearly that, after this, she might not be able to come back to school. Once her illness began destabilizing, recuperation would require a long period of time. It'd be difficult to continue to attend school, then.

So, just how much time did I have left, with her?

Ann: Ran, be good, take these pills for me, okay?

Ran: I WON'T! Don't come close to me!

After her illness worsened due to Koizumi-sensei departing from her position, I was just barely able to convince miss Miho to allow Ran to continue to attend classes.

The result was that she was only allowed to attend classes for half of the day. And I, on the other hand, took up the responsibility of taking care of her in the school- the most important part of which was that I had to make sure that she took her medication as prescribed every noon.

But the mentally ill could fight medication to a degree that exceeded even my imagination.

Ann: Once you take the medication, you can take a nap, and then after you wake up, we can go home together, okay?

Ran: I'm not taking the medications! I'll never eat anything you give me- not even water!

For a while, I'd been tricking Ran into taking her medication by hiding it in her food, to overcome her resistance, but eventually she found out, and once she did, it made her even more paranoid and high-strung.

Ann: Ran, I just want you to get better quickly-

Ran: I'M NOT SICK! Why are you forcing me like this?! It's clearly them who are persecuting and bullying me! Why should I be the one who has to take medication?!

Ann: No matter what, you have to persevere and keep taking your meds.

After I said so, I put the Olanzapine pill in my mouth, and then crawled onto the bed next to her.

Ran: What are you doing?! STAY AWAY FROM ME!

I reached out and grabbed her arm. Ran struggled fiercely, trying to kick me away with her legs.

Ran: Don't come any closer! Don't-

While her mouth was open, I took the opportunity and pressed my own lips to them, and used my tongue to shove the pill into her mouth.

Ran choke-sobbed a bit, and shook her head, but ultimately gave up on struggling and swallowed it.

I waited until she'd fully calmed down, before pulling my lips away, and letting go of her hands.

That was our first kiss.