06 Abandoned Public Library / A Web

The transfer student wonders at the purpose of storing the blade's fragment within an old, immolated library.

Hikage, leading the way with his phone's flashlight, scratches his face, thinking about the question posed.

The five of them now, making their way together down the desolate stacks. Where half-burnt books sit among piles of ash, never to be read again. The damp, moldy carpet underneath, still waterlogged all these years, sucking at the bottom their feet with each step. Squelch. Squelch. Squelch. As though they were wading through marshland. The transfer student's eyes tearing up at the mildew smell.

"… I'unno," says Hikage, finally. "Why put anything anywhere? Also, I mean—it's not like it was burnt-down when I stored it here in the first place."

Then, might it be because this place, in its former glory, holds some sort of emotional significance in his heart?

Hikage stays silent for a long time, as if in deep contemplation at this follow-up.

Then he replies, "… Not really."

"You really don't remember where ya put the darn thing?" asks Rina.

"I mean, it was in a car repair manual. I remember that much."

"… Ain't 'much', I reckon."

Sakaki intones, "If vehicular maintenance be the general direction of our search, then let us proceed to the second floor. The south-west corner."

The other four stop in place, turn their heads to gawk astonished at the tall Banisher in the kendougi.

Unprompted, Sakaki explains, pointing at the blackened labels at the end of the stacks. "… Follow the decimals."

~

"Heck, I still recall the night of that blazing inferno. Me and lil' sis, we were watching the smoke from all the way 'cross town. Staying up past our bedtime." Rina sighs nostalgically. "Fine memory." Then, at realizing how her words might be misinterpreted, she backtracks, "N-no! I don't mean the fire was nice! The fire was a darn terrible ol' thing! It w-was just—it was back before lil' sis … you know …"

Before what, Rina?

Before she got sick? Before she had to go in for all those painful tests? Before you and Mom and Dad had to move all of lil' sis's stuffed toys into the hospital room she's lying in right this moment?

Yes, yes. All very sad. As sob stories go, it's about level with so many other tragic backstories out there Banishing tonight.

But you go on, Rina. You go on.

"… I tell you what, if that dang ol' Adjudicator picks me tonight, then I'mma go to a good school. Med school. Find a cure for lil' sis's damn disease."

She can't simply just … wish for her little sister to get better?

"It doesn't work like that, transfer student," says Hikage. "Your wish has to be personal. You can't wish for something to happen to someone else. Can't wish on another's behalf."

~

In the dim, dark stairwell. Scorched wallpaper. Faint outline of a mural blackened beyond recognition. Trees, sun, children playing. Fuyukage in happier times.

… At least there aren't any Aberrations here, right?

Hikage and the mercenaries exchange uneasy looks.

"Well, no, transfer student—that's the strange thing. Place like this, with so much suffering attached to it … Place oughta be crawling with them. … Something's not right."

Rina grips her revolvers tighter. As do Misa her claws, Sakaki her sword.

And the weaponless transfer student, not wanting to miss out on his own dramatic gesture, takes out his own phone, to add to Hikage's light.

(… By the way, should he choose, right now, in this very moment, for whatever reason, by whim or unwitting acuity, to look up, and point his phone to the ceiling, and sweep his light across it … Well, then he might notice in that resulting progressive gleaming an intricate network of near-invisible, impossibly-thin wires, strung up tautly like fishing lines, or guitar strings, B or high E in any case, in erratic disarray near the top … The sight of which might then, in turn, direct his attention to the fact that this massive spider's web extends well beyond this stairwell, and into the rest of the library, including, yes, that massive central atrium they had just crossed, the area dimly lit by the moonlight coming in through the glass skylight, three floors high, nothing between floor and ceiling save the glistening threads …)

… But, luckily enough for the four eyes watching this crew of teenagers silently from above, the transfer student doesn't do that.

He doesn't do any of that.

And so they continue up the stairs.

~

On the second floor now, south-west corner.

"Ugh, gross," Misa winces. "Most of these books just turn to dust when you touch 'em. Getting freakin' soot all over my nails. Nasty."

"Well, keep searching," says Hikage.

"Now how you suppose we even know what the darn thing looks like!?" exclaims Rina.

"It's the thing that looks like a broken-off part of a legendary sword, cowgirl. Which I think, narrows it down a bit. Ain't like we got much of those lyin' 'round, I reckon."

Rina huffs, sticks her tongue out at Hikage, and makes a rude gesture.

~

So, the Adjudication.

"Yeah, transfer student?" says Hikage, rummaging through the ashes. "What about it?"

Whoever has the highest shadow gem count wins, is that it?

"Kinda …? It's a bit more complicated than that."

The transfer student tilts his head in confusion.

"The geezer means," says Misa, "that nobody really knows how the whole thing works."

Hikage shrugs. "I mean, having the highest shadow gem count doesn't hurt your chances. But Miss Meat Skewer's right."

"(Ugh, gross. Don't call me that ever again, thanks.)"

"You're not guaranteed to be crowned winner just because you got the most tokens. If that were the case, my sister would've been won the competition the last two Banishment Nights, no contest."

Himekawa Hikari is … that strong?

"Ha. Try strong-er. Truth is, nobody really knows what the Adjudicator looks for. But since shadow gems are the most tangible metric we've got, so … Might as well up those numbers, right?"

So people have actually won this thing? There have been winners, who have had their wishes realized?

"Ya bet'cha!" says Rina. "Let's see here … Last year we had that senior, he went off and moved ta' the big city after graduation. Heard he got hired at one o' them auditing firms as an intern, now he's makin' steady money doin' whatever it is they do in those places. O-or, year before that, we had that one girl, who went off and became a lawyer. (Very least, she's in law school now …)"

The transfer student raises an eyebrow.

But those all just sound like normal, everyday life paths.

"Indeed, shounen," says Sakaki, from the next stack over. "The mundanity of wishes granted by Banishment Night eludes us not. And from one not accustomed to Fuyu-no-kage-machi, such seemingly commonplace aspirations can only elicit perplexion. But I assure you, shounen. Without the blessing of Banishment Night … All dreams are destined to perish. Absent of all hope. Believe it."

Why not just wish to win the lottery or something?

Hikage replies, "Yeah, others have tried stuff like that. Doesn't work. You just waste a wish doing that. It's gotta be something personal to you. Something you can feasibly work toward. I mean … If you lose a leg, or something let's say, you can't just wish to grow it back. But you can wish for the strength to see yourself through the, um, physical therapy, or whatever. … That kinda thing, get it?"

The transfer student purses his lips, crosses his arms.

But whatever he's thinking, it doesn't matter.

Because from the other side of the stack now, comes—

"—Hey, hey! Look!" Rina chirping, excitedly. "This it, ain't it?"

In her hand, a sharp piece of metal, one end smooth and unbroken, the other jagged.

Glowing slightly green, along the traces of its shattering.

~

"Yeah, yeah. Give it here," Hikage gesturing.

Rina hands it over, annoyed. "(… You're mighty welcome.)"

Stub blade in one hand, fragment in the other.

He brings the two together, close, almost touching, but not quite, then releases the fragment.

Drawn to the Vernal Blade, the fragment slides into place with an audible Click!, like magnets snapping together.

The green glow along the fractured edge fading, until there is no longer any edge at all. No seam. No trace that there had ever been any separation at all.

Hikage, eyes widening, "… And that's one down."

~

Retracing their steps through the library, back to the front entrance. Objective complete.

Of course, none of them had really thought, coming into the library, that it would be this easy. Each one of them too experienced, some would say jaded, to fall into such a beginner's trap.

… Save perhaps, the transfer student.

Which is probably the reason that, as they near the end of the atrium, having crossed its length, he is swept up, by a red blur, that swoops down, and carries him back up high, almost to the rafters, near the concave dome of the glass skylight above.