(V4) Chapter 12: What Disasters Are For

The last night of the field trip meant plenty of social events will take place at the beachfront.

Torches were lit up to light the crowd of students that started to huddle around the large bonfire at the heart of the beach.

The stars whispered prayers that had taken flight, wishes that someday one would love to be realized. The waves hummed a quiet lullaby in the background, distant but ever present. Students sat in circles, some swayed to music by those who bought guitars, others shared laughter, some fumbled with phones and books, some just watched the serenity of the night.

I sat at the far end of the beach, flanked by my trusty crutches as I stared up into the sky.

My thoughts drifted to Ayase, our swift and stolen moments, and Takamine-san, her straightforward and assertive persona, and her hidden vulnerability.

Both lit fires in my chest that refused to die. I stared down at the sand. My hand twitching—half-closed, half-reached. A useless gesture for something I couldn’t grasp.

Will I give my answer tonight?

From a distance, the large bonfire was lit, followed by a muffled applause from the crowd.

"Buddy!" A voice called out. "Do you want to join the ritual dance? I'll help you up."

I looked up. Akito stood before me, nervously adjusting the frames on his nose. And beside him—Saori. Their fingers were intertwined.

My heart skipped a beat. Did this loud otaku already find a 3D girl to date?

And of all girls, Saori?!

“What…” I blinked, my voice hollow. “Did I miss…something?”

Akito's gaze wavered around. "Yeah, buddy. Guess your trusty sidekick found his lost princess."

“Oh, you traitor.”

“Don't call me a son of a witch…I'm born from the embers of an elf kingdom.”

Saori smiled, a little shy, a little proud. “We figured we owed you an update, so that's why we're here.”

Akito rubbed the back of his neck, flushing red. “It kind of...happened. After the local terrain exploration. That near-death experience made things clearer—like I earned a long lost treasure of clairvoyance! Guess I stopped overthinking…”

“And I,” Saori added, “Stopped pretending.”

Their honesty hit like a quiet tide. No grand declaration. Just two people who found each other in disaster, and had the courage to say so.

That's the difference between us that constantly ashamed me, they found each other and I still didn't.

"Of course, I was shaken too! Saori-chan right here was like our big sister, right? Always telling us the best of things, the mature wisdom she always carried and lastly, how she kept us together even when we're losers. I know I'm a sicko but I guess I liked her since last year. I just got no guts to tell because you know how retarded I am when it comes to things like these. Besides, I'm barely even likeable. But after she got bullied, that was the turning point. I have to protect her no matter what starting now."

"You dummy!" Saori struck his side, making him weep.

"Then I randomly picked that journalist at the King's game you missed a couple of nights ago and guess who reacted after my confession...Saori-chan didn't even talk to me the whole day after!"

I wasn't present at the sleepover so it's clear that I missed that part.

"Well, he's not really the guy who stands out but I like him for who he is to me. Akito-chan is kind, always measured even though he's a pain. But I stopped pretending that I'm just her classmate after he saved me. I let myself be seen as a girl too desirable, too made for him."

“You’ve been through the same mess as me,” I said, a faint laugh escaping. “And yet you figured yourselves out.”

Saori tilted her head. “That’s what disasters are for, Haru-kun. They reveal who we really want to cling to.”

"And about yours, buddy?" Akito asked.

But I stayed silent. I don't even know how to answer that.

"I hope you will choose who can bear your burden, and will always choose you at the most desperate times." Saori muttered.

Then they left, Akito taking the lead, even.

To dance.

To live.

And I was left behind with my ghosts.

Until—

Measured footsteps in the sand.

I turned my head—and froze.

Two figures approached. My teeth gritted.

Ichika and Allain.

Yet the atmosphere tonight was different. They were wearing school gym clothes. Ichika's golden hair tied to a ponytail, Allain covering one eye with an eyepatch.

But I didn't let my instincts slip—I rose to my feet, ignoring the flare of pain in my injured leg, already shifting into a stance.

“I don’t care why you’re here,” I growled. “But if you came to take Ayase away—”

“She’s not yours to fight over,” Allain interrupted, voice smooth, venomous. “Though your little limp is proof enough you’d never win, even if you tried.”

“Stop, Allain, Haru.” Ichika stepped between us, eyes calm like glass. “We didn’t come to fight.”

“We forged her documents,” I said. “That’s how she got here. Don’t act like the system suddenly decided to let her in.”

Ichika’s lips curled slightly. “We know. Because we did the same.”

My chest tightened. “What?”

“We forged ours too,” she said. “We're students now, since last week. But we're placed in another class. 3-6, if you wanna know.”

Allain spoke next.

“We have assessed that it's true that AURA Sentinels don't emit radio signals unlike other models. Saved us from trouble when next to a DART.”

“So you're in, good. What's next?” I asked with a frown.

Ichika played with the ends of her hair.

“We're not here to drag her away. We're here to…watch.”

My fists clenched. “Watch? Why?”

“You already know why,” she replied softly. “But fine. I’ll say it.”

Allain looked away, his jaw tight, but didn’t interrupt.

"I told you that school was the best decision you've made for her so far. But the consequences of being in this kind of social territory is immense."

The waves roared behind the silence. My world blurred at the edges.

“We’re not here to hurt or take her from you,” she added. “We’re here for the moment if those government agents return, or if a black market jerk plants an emotional inhibitor on her system. Not just that, if she breaks down, goes berserk, of is she—”

“Dies,” I whispered.

Ichika nodded.

"The cost of living the life she wanted,” Ichika said gently. “A normal life. One with sunsets, and arguments, and laughter. She wanted this. But reaching blue hour is inevitable like rivers finding their way to the sea.”

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. Not yet.

Allain, ever cold, finally muttered, “You gave her this life. Are you satisfied with what you’ve done?”

I shook my head. "I gave her what she wanted,” I murmured. “But…it doesn’t feel like enough.”

Silence.

And then—Ichika stepped closer and took both of my hands gently.

“Then maybe now’s the time to find it,” she smiled, almost meant to steady me. "Before time runs out. Be that riverflow that finds its sea."

I looked up at her.

And Allain raised the hem of his sleeve, revealing his fist that was clenched.

“Don’t mess up, you dimwit.” he hissed slowly. “I’ll be finishing you off if you disappoint me.”

And without another word, the two walked off—melting into the night like phantoms.

I remained glued to my position for a long while. And I finally understood.

The fire crackled on behind me. The stars blinked overhead. And slowly—my hands trembled, yet I clenched it with determination I never found before.

I turned.

And started limping across the beach.

Toward her.

Toward the one who smiled like she wasn’t breaking.

The one who seems so afraid to say goodbye.