Part 6

Ann: You finished your conversation with Koizumi?

Ran: Hm? Ah, yes.

Ann: Okay. We can talk, then.

Ran: Finally, we can have a proper conversation, miss Sakura! 😍 😍 😍

Ann: Where's Koizumi, right now?

Ran: (Ugh, why does she have to care so much about the class president.)

Ran: She should still be up on the observation deck. She said she wasn't going to come down until later.

Ann: Did you tell her not to come back?

Ran felt Ann tighten her grip on Ran's hand, to an uncomfortable level of force. There was an expression on Ann's face that she'd never seen before.

Ran: (Miss Sakura's mad at me? Over someone else??)

Ran: Miss Sakura, why do you care so much about Koizumi? She's an outsider!

Ran: Our relationship isn't something as simple as just lovers, it's the kind of relationship where no outsider can possibly interfere with-

Ran: Miss Sakura, please don't pay any more attention to other people, from now on.

Ann: Ran, I don't have any memories. Right now, it should be obvious who exactly is 'important' to me, and who is an 'outsider' to me. I hope you can understand that.

Ran: I don't understand, no! All I understand is that Ann should treat me the way I treat her, and be the same to me as-

Ann took Ran's other hand with her own other hand.

Ann: Ran, calm down.

Ann: Ran, you know that I'm not admonishing you. You're aware that you're just needlessly making a scene, too, don't you?

Ran: I'm sorry, miss Sakura. I shouldn't demand that the current you hold any sort of extreme feelings for me at the moment.

Ran: I was wrong. I'll go apologize to the class president too later.

Ran: I'll figure out what's going on and fix your memories, I swear. I just... I'm just feeling terrible, miss Sakura. I can't bear the fact that you don't remember me anymore...

Ran's anguish reflected itself in Ann's eyes, but Ann seemed at a loss to help Ran.

Ann: I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?

Ran: ...Miss Sakura used to pat my head when I cried, before. She'd rub my head until I stopped crying...

Ran: Miss Sakura, can you help me?

Ann looked down at her hands, and hesitated. She knew that all Ran was really looking for was Ann Sakura's face.

But she still nodded, and gently pulled Ran down to lie on her lap.

Then, she took her hands and stroked Ran's head. Ran let her eyes close, and let the sounds of the sea and wind fill her ears.

Sai: Hm? You came back real quick. I thought you might have decided to sleep over in Ann's room or something.

Sai: What, did you get dumped by Ann?

Ran: No, I just thought that maybe you'd still be swimming and I could have the room all to myself for a while.

Sai: Unfortunately for you, I expected that you'd definitely get dumped, which was why I chose not to go swimming, and instead waited at the dorms to comfort you!

Ran giggled at that. Being around Sai Yano was relaxing- no two ways about it.

Ran: Anyways, now that we've drawn lots, a death could occur at any time, right?

Ran: It doesn't feel any different from usual, though.

Sai: Well, everyone's used to it, now. What were you imagining, exactly?

Ran: Well, I dunno, something like, everyone being very tense, making sure nobody can sneak up on them, being super jumpy about any unexpected noises, that sort of thing?

Sai: Sounds like Battle Royale.

Ran: Yeah, a bit.

Sai: Hey, if you're still anxious, you could go look around the dorms for a while yet. Night's still young.

Sai: Plus, there was that one time Asakura drew herself as the culprit and killed herself. Who knows, maybe if you go looking you'll find her dangling from the rafters somewhere or other.

For some reason, when Sai said that, Ran felt a brief pulse of pain from her solar plexus. But it passed in an instant.

Ran: Wow, so someone actually did try that. So, Asakura was the culprit, and Asakura herself was also the victim?

Sai: Yeah, that case was so stressful for Tama-chan. Though in the end she was the one who saw through Asakura's faked murder scene, and brought Asakura back to life.

Ran: I can imagine how anxious Indou would have been in a situation like that, yes.

Sai: Well, she's pretty fun when she's panicked, too. Anyways, if you're going to go take another stroll, don't stray too far. It's not quite safe in the late nights.

Ran: (Because of the potential that I'll get murdered by a classmate? Or does she mean something else?)

Ran: Okay.

Sai: And don't forget to take a shower after you're done. After you got drenched by that storm, all I did was wipe you down, you still need a proper shower.

Ran instinctively clutched at her chest with her hands.

Ran: O-oh. G-got it.

Sai: Also, fuck, girl, your titties are massive.

Ran: Who the hell gave you permission to look?!

Ran stood up and immediately left the room.

Ran hears the sounds of talking and running water from the bathroom, but she can't make out what's being said.

She considered getting closer, but decided against it.

Ran: (Listening to other people shower is a bit too perverted.)

Ran got a bottle of water out of the refrigerator in the kitchen, and gulped it down.

Ran: (First time I saw Sai, she was taking a drink from the fridge here as well.)

Ran: (Can't believe things have developed the way they have. At least miss Sakura is here.)

Ran finishes the drink and throws the empty plastic bottle into the trashbin.

Ran: This should do it. This is an old-fashioned lock. It'll be easy for me.

The tool shed was full of various kinds of useful things for maintenance. There was no lack of large devices that Ran couldn't even name, as well as plenty of ropes, ladders, etc.

Ran: (I imagine the key's probably with Asakura, normally, since she's responsible for maintenance.)

Ran knocks on Tama Indou and Makoto Asakura's shared room. It took a while for someone to answer her.

Tama: Ah, Ibuki-san. Good evening!

Ran: Mmh, good evening.

Ran: Wait, it's just you alone here?

Tama: That's right. Asakura-san went with Sakura-san to shower.

Ran: (So, then, it’s miss Sakura, the class president, and Asakura in the shower.)

Ran: Miho said that you all took turns showering in pairs, with the pairings based on your dorm assignments, right? Why didn’t you go shower with Asakura?

Ran: I thought you two were basically a single item. I figured you’d totally go with Asakura and, I dunno, scrub her back for her.

Tama: An item?

Tama: Oh, I do help Asakura-san wash usually, but today I got caught up reading a book, so Asakura-san went by herself.

Ran: A book? From the library?

Tama: That’s right. Its title is Notes From Underground.

Ran, of course, recognized the name. For a while she'd been into philosophical novels like that herself. It really didn't at all seem like Tama's style, though. Ran had trouble imagining it.

Ran: Wow, that's pretty impressive of you. It's a pretty tough book to read, isn't it?

Tama: Yes, but whenever I get confused while reading, I just ask Asakura-san to explain for me. She knows just about everything.

Ran: Mm. Asakura definitely seems like the kind of person that these novels would be suitable for.

Tama Indou laughed lightly, and blushed, a little.

Tama: Ibuki-san, if you have yet to shower, might I suggest we shower together? There are some things regarding Sakura-san that I'd like to speak with you about.

Ran: Oh, sure, absolutely.

Ran: (Excellent. Let's begin deciphering miss Sakura's circumstances by starting with Indou Tama.)

Ran: (I wonder if Indou will scrub my back for me if I ask.)

Ran: (It's about time. Let's go find Indou and prepare to take a shower.)

Ran: The bathrooms are a bit rustic, but still quite nice. And there's some traces of a fragrant smell in the air.

Tama: It's rose fragrance. Every room has some! If Ibuki-san would like, I could go upstairs and get some more.

Ran: Ah- no, it's okay. I don't use this kind of thing usually anyways.

Ran: (Damn, what do I say to her? I can't actually ask her to scrub my back, can I?)

Tama: Miss Ibuki.

Tama spoke suddenly.

Tama: If there's anything you need my help with, or if you're uncomfortable in any way, please do let me know.

Ran: Eh? Why're you saying that all of a sudden?

Tama: Because I feel like I understand your feelings for Sakura-san, so I just thought- Well, perhaps I'm being presumptious.

Ran: It's fine, you can say what you want to say.

Tama: Ibuki-san, I once had someone like that as well. She was the young mistress of my house. From a very young age I served as her maidservant.

Ran: Maidservant? Seriously? Sounds like a feudal period piece.

Tama: Is that so strange? My parents were also servants of the young lady's household, so naturally I served her as well.

Tama: It's a shame that the earthquake in Yokohama happened later. After that, the young mistress and I were the only ones left. We could only rely on each other to get by.

Ran: What? Yokohama? Wait, you said an earthquake?

Indou Tama's character notes have been updated.

what is the class president even trying to dooooo

school's really big, took a stroll around its circumference and now it feels like my feet are all busted up

besides headpats, i wish miss sakura would kiss me too, that'd be the best >.<

Ran: What? Yokohama? Wait, you said an earthquake?

Ran: And your uniform- could it be that- how could that be possible...

Ran: (Looking at it this way, forget everyone else, there's no way Indou could have lived all the way to this era.)

Ran: (The revival of the dead... No, not even only that.)

Ran: (Miss Sakura, just what the hell kind of place have we found ourselves in?)

Tama: Miss Asakura is a bit like the young mistress, too. But she's unlike her in the ways where she should most be like her, so I constantly worry about her and feel the need to take care of her.

Ran: Uh- Indou, could you be a bit more clear, what do you mean exactly by 'ways where she should be most like her'.

Tama: I don't know how to put it either. The young mistress has been in a terribly poor state, historically. She's only recently started to get a little better.

Tama lowered her head and lightly bit her lower lip.

Tama: Asakura-san is a lot like how the young mistress used to be, before she got better. I want to help her.

Ran: Mmm...

Ran: Well, I don't get what you mean by 'poor state historically', but nobody would be annoyed that others care about them. You should just do what you want to do.

Tama nodded, and a smile returned to her face.

Tama: I'll do my best. You should too, Ibuki-san! If there's anything you need help with, just ask me.

Ran: Yeah, I will.

Ran: (It's nice that I got to talk to Tama before sleeping. I feel like she's healed all of my exhaustion from today just by talking to me.)

Ran: (I should actually try to get her to scrub my back for me, next time.)

Ran Ibuki slept well. The hot water bath and Ann Sakura's ministrations had taken great effect.

But, there was a certain something outside of the room, that had come to disrupt her hard-won rest.

An eldritch presence continually grew, and a nameless chaos was slowly writhing in the hallways at that very moment.

I bid my own will suffuse into Ran Ibuki's brain, and open her eyes.

I had foregone awakening for so long, it caused my eyes to blur. I laid on the bed, and flexed a finger, and experimentally pulled the legs in.

Ran?: (No problems.)

At an incomprehensibly even rate, the door to the room opened, and I focused my undivided attention on the darkness beyond that threshold.

A pale white form had appeared in the ink-black corridors, from out of nothing. I wasn't able to perceive just how it'd approached the gate.

I grasped the headboards of the bed with my hands, tense and wary of the being's next moves.

It was massive in size. Its gait was like that of growing plants. From the darkness it penetrated into the room, advancing bit by bit.

Soon, its low, quiet mutterings and gibberings seemed to become a mist that enveloped the whole room.

I listened carefully to those quiet whisperings, and finally heard clearly its origin.

It was the sound of astronomical bodies- the sound of stars being born and destroyed in an instant. The cacophony of the universe's endless expansion.

And, the sound of its weeping.

I sat up on the side of the bed, and looked towards it. The fierce desire and joy it emanated was like the heart-throbbing joy I felt when I first met Ran Ibuki.

Facing the beloved children of human mothers, we can only be inescapably pulled in.

It dragged its body into the room, its sculpted thorax stooped and bent, staring at me.

Ran???: Who are you?

[This query is one that I should be asking of you
But you have already recognized the more critical confounding matter]

The voice appeared inside my consciousness, in a language which I could understand.

[I seek but cannot find the memories of Ann Sakura
Causing this fragmented space to seal Ran Ibuki away]

Its speech was seemingly bent to some bizarre rhythm; the phrasings it used were invariably twisted.

The organ like a distended eyeball, which apparently served as the being's head, glimmered with inorganic specks of light.

Its heaving back was nearly parallel with the ceiling, and the spherical forms that made up its lower half clung tightly to the ground. Two long dangling arms, thick with muscle, drooped powerlessly to the floor.

I looked towards the upper bunk. Sai Yano showed no signs of waking up anytime soon. Perhaps she couldn't perceive these sounds- or perhaps it wasn't allowing Sai Yano to awaken.

Ran???: What do you intend to do to Ran Ibuki?

[We are...
Kindred?]

Ran???: From the perspective of human motherhood, we are indeed kindred. But I know not from whence you originate. In terms of fundamental nature we may well be quite dissimilar.

[If in the eyes of human mothers you and I are alike
Then you must surely understand my thoughts and intention]

Ran???: I see. Your kind are always like this. Ran Ibuki merely wants to be together with Ann Sakura. Why do you persistently hinder her in this?

[This is no hindrance
You crave the human mother's beloved child]
In this you are like us]

From that statement, it was obvious that it was this being which had brought Ran Ibuki here- and it had no intention to let Ran leave.

Ran???: No matter what your intent is.

Ran???: Trapping Ran Ibuki here, and forcing her to remain by your side, is nothing but a waste of effort.

Ran???: She has to help you of her own will for it to mean anything.

[This place
Is the heaven that belongs to her]
I hope for]
Her eternal companionship]

Suddenly, it leaned its body forward, and its featureless head closed in on me once more.

[I understand the laws
Thus, none may forcibly monopolize her]
I have also left for her a path to depart from here]

[Originally I believed that the closest one to her was you
The one who could monopolize her was you]
But in fact you are counted as the most distant from her]

[Only if she slumbers
Or if her brain ceases consciousness]
Or if her soul and physical body are divided]
Can you quietly manifest in the world]

Its voice wasn't particularly emotional. Perhaps it wasn't attempting to provoke me- it was just expressing something that was a simple fact to it.

Ran???: At least I've always been by Ran Ibuki's side. I will protect her. And since you've constructed this stage, you shouldn't disrupt the rules yourself.

Ran???: Stay away from Ran Ibuki, and let her make the decision herself.

Ran???: I will only protect her, and ensure that, when she makes a certain decision or decisions, nobody can stop her.

It seemed to have nothing more to say. It began retreating- in a way that looked as if it was just rewinding the process through which it sprouted into this room, a film played in reverse.

Bit by bit, it was sucked into the darkness outside the room's door, its featureless head staring at me the entire time.

Or, rather, should I say, towards Ran Ibuki's body.

After it was swallowed by the darkness, the door to the room closed by itself, without a single sound.

I went back to bed, hugging my shoulders tightly.

I took a deep breath, and hungrily buried myself in the sensations of physical contact with Ran Ibuki. I needed it.

Ran???: Good night, Ran Ibuki.

I closed my eyes and returned the body to her.