A Future I Will Never Know✰

???: “...Are these guys serious right now?”

Sitting on a lone bench was a somewhat short teenage boy with dark blue hair and cyan eyes. He seemed to be thoroughly engrossed in a social media argument on his phone.

Blue-Haired Boy: *gasp* “Gungear: The Unicorn Wars is better than Mercury’s Warlock, my ass! Honestly, why even let people this moronic have a phone?”

???: “Kieran?”

As he looked up, the blue-haired boy noticed two familiar faces belonging to Alice and Gray.

Kieran: “Oh, it’s you guys.”

Alice: “Wow. You didn’t even try to sound enthusiastic.”

Gray: “A-Anyways, how have you been? Besides the whole skipping school so often thing, of course.”

Kieran: “As always, I’m doing fine enough. Let me guess, on a mission for that charity you’re a member of?”

Alice rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh.

Alice: “Look, we don’t have time for petty squabbles. Have you seen a pink-haired girl lately? I can’t imagine you’d miss someone so striking.”

Kieran: “Sorry, I haven’t seen someone who matches the description. Also, pink hair, really? What is Estella City investing in magical girls now?”

Alice: “H-How should I know? Ugh. Gray, did Nana say anything about other potential clues?”

Gray: “N-Not really… She said Chloe used to live in this neighborhood, but not any real details…”

Kieran: “Wait, Nana? Like, ‘Nana Pleione’ Nana?”

Alice looked over at Kieran with a perplexed expression.

Alice: “W-Wait, how do you know her?”

Kieran: “I’ve run into her and the Corpse Squad a few times in the past month. They seem like a bunch of loser amateurs, but their hearts are in the right place.”

Alice: *sigh* “Try not to trip over all that kindness, buster. Come on, Gray, let’s go look somewhere else.”

Gray: “Y-Yeah, right. See you around, Kieran! Hopefully at school!”

Alice: “More like see you never.”

Kieran: “Don’t go stealing my lines, faker! Now then, time to check the comments again— Seven out of ten?! These people are out of their minds! They wouldn’t know peak fiction if it smacked them in the ass! AAaaaghhhhh!”

✰✰✰

Nana: “N-Nina… Are you sure we should be looking around here?

Nina: “Y’know, I don’t see why not! Clues are everywhere for those with eyes to see, my dear girl!”

Nana: “O-Okay! I trust the process!”

While Gray and Alice were still searching around, Nina and Nana could be seen approaching a local scare house that had no reason to be open year-round. As they got up to the ticket tent, a short girl donning a jack-o-lantern mask popped up seemingly from out of nowhere.

Masked Cashier: “Greetings, maidens! While the scare house isn’t open for a few hours, is there anything else I can do in the meantime to enhance the experience?”

Nana: “Well… Have you seen a pink-haired girl around here lately? Or ever, really.”

Masked Cashier: “Hm… A very striking hair color indeed… Oh! Now that you mention it, a girl with pink hair volunteered here a month or two ago. She seemed like a kind girl, albeit clearly a bit troubled. Why do you two ask?”

Nana: “R-Really?! Did you hear anything about where she went after?!”

Nina: “Any clues will help us out a ton, so let ‘em rip!”

The masked cashier laughed nervously.

Masked Cashier: “Sorry, you two, she didn’t give any information… Or even her name. Wish I could help out more, but alas…”

Nana: “N-No worries!”

Nina: “We’ll get to the bottom of this, so thanks for the help anyway!”

Masked Cashier: “Of cours-ies! Make sure to come back for the— Oh. They’re already gone?” *sigh* “If the school of hard knocks was real, I’d be an ace student…”

Not long after, Nana and Nina found a local fountain to sit around and reorganize their search.

Nina: *sigh* “Back to square one again, it seems… I’m really sorry, Nana.”

Nana: “N-No need to apologize! We’ll find Chloe somehow, I’m sure of it… Besides, maybe Gray and Alice had better luck!”

Nina: “We probably would’ve heard from them if they did, but maybe!”

???: “Haha. Fancy seeing you two here.”

Standing right beside the bench without making a sound was Theo in all his dandy glory.

Nana: “M-Mr. Stratos?! Look I can—”

Theo: “No need to defend yourself, Miss Pleione. I’m just here to help search for your friend, that’s all.”

Nina: “W-We definitely need a hand or two, that’s for sure…”

Nana: “My squad agreed to help look around the area, so maybe you two could search together? We’d be covering way more ground!”

Theo glanced down and offered a hand to Nina.

Theo: “So, shall we get going?”

Nina: “Hehe. Yeah, let’s get a move on!”

✰✰✰

Not long after, Nina and Theo could be seen walking around in search of more clues.

Nina: “Mr. Stratos, do you mind if I ask you something?”

Theo: “Of course. Let your curiosity run wild.”

Nina: “...Did you tell Gray about this mission earlier? The previous night, I mean.”

Theo: “I did. Perhaps as an excuse to chat with him, but the point still came across. What, do you not trust me?”

Nina: “N-No, it’s not that! I was just a bit curious… And maybe a little overprotective, but that’s besides the point!”

Theo chuckled to himself.

Theo: “I understand, truly. That being said… You probably shouldn’t fully trust me; adults are truly despicable creatures, Nina.”

Nina: “...Yeah, I know they can be. They are often the ones in charge of the world’s future and its narrative, after all.”

Theo: “That is… Unfortunately, very true. Although never doubt yourself just because you’re young. You are the future, after all.”

Nina: “Hehe… Pressure, much? I get what you mean, though. I’ll make sure to do my absolute best, okay?”

Theo: “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Suddenly, Nina took her smartphone out and checked her recent messages.

Nina: “Oh! It looks like Gray and Alice found another shady manhole that was recently opened! Catch you later, Mr. Stratos! Thanks for everything!”

Theo: “Take care! Good luck with the search!”

The blonde-haired girl grinned and immediately took off.

Theo: (They truly are such a perfect group… I wish these bygone days would last forever…)

Theo’s eyes narrowed as he glared up at the sky.

Theo: “Haha… As if you would ever let such a future come to pass, Aries… May a hundred divine spears pierce that blackened heart of yours…”

✰✰✰

Earlier that day, an extremely tall man with striking white hair and reddish hazel eyes similar to Alice’s could be seen exiting a train. After walking out into the open, the towering man took a deep breath before smiling up at the sky.

Towering Man: “Jeez, I sure missed this damn place.”

With a confident grin, the man slowly walked on his way.

Towering Man: “Now, time for the hard part of the job.”