Fragment 20. Meet the (3rd) Sister (Part 2)

The eccentric gas-mask-wearing person stared at me without moving an inch. Even though I couldn’t see what was behind that mask, I felt as if she was glaring at me sharply.

She was wearing a long white robe that draped down, covering the chair she was sitting on. Her hair was long and wavy, colored red mixed with orange. When I first saw her earlier, the very first thing that crossed my mind upon seeing her hair was a lush maple tree in autumn. Alongside her robe, she was wearing my old school’s female uniform. So at the very least, I knew she was a woman, just like me. Or is she?

“Um…”

“Hhhuuufff.”

Eep!

I almost jumped in fright when I heard the heavy breathing produced by the gas mask. But thankfully, I managed to put on a brave face.

She extended her hand dramatically. When she did that, my heart nearly stopped. But fortunately, all she did was remove the mask covering her face.

“Fyuuuh!”

She let out a relieved sigh. In response, I did the same. After all, I finally felt at ease once I knew that she was a human just like me.

She shook her head left and right, causing her hair to flutter. For a brief moment, I could see droplets of water flying off her shiny face. It was then that I realized the room was tightly sealed, with no open ventilation allowing air to circulate. On top of that, all the curtains were closed, preventing any outside light from entering.

Being inside a room like that while wearing a gas mask, I could imagine how hot it must have been.

After drying her face and taking a breath of some fresh air, she looked in my direction.

Her eyes were clearly fixed on me, yet for some reason, I felt that her gaze was empty. At the same time, her lips were smiling at me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that her smile was fake.

Just a short while ago, I had thought she was a normal girl like me. But now, I had a hunch that she was dangerous—far more dangerous than Fuyuki. If Fuyuki was someone who acted based on her emotions, then this girl was the type who acted without emotion.

After staring at me for quite some time, the girl finally opened her mouth.

“So, who are you? What are you doing here?”

“………Huh?”

What was this? Was this her way of joking around? I hoped so. Because if not, then this wasn’t funny at all.

But her eyes didn’t look like she was joking. Wait—could I even trust those empty eyes? I had no idea. This girl was far too difficult to read.

“Wait. You don’t know me?”

“Um… Do I have to?”

My body went limp upon hearing her indifferent answer.

All of my sisters recognized me the moment they saw me. But not her. In fact, she looked like she didn’t care who I was at all.

I did not expect this kind of outcome at all.

“It’s me, Haruno! Don’t you remember me?” I said, my voice rising, desperate to make her remember.

However, her reply hit me even harder than before.

“Haruno? Emh… I feel like I’ve heard that name before, but where was it again?”

The world seemed to stop moving.

I opened my mouth to respond, but not a single word came out. My tongue felt stiff, as if all the sentences I had carefully put together collapsed before they could even be spoken.

She… really didn’t know me?

The girl’s hand rested on her chin as she tried to recall a name she had long forgotten. Seeing her reaction, I finally became convinced that she was serious. An outcome I never wanted to believe in the first place.

“If possible, I also want to throw away all of these bad memories.”

As I stood there, frozen in place, Fuyuki’s words came back to me.

Did she throw out her memory in her own will?

The thought surfaced on its own—wild, illogical, and sounding like a cheap excuse to deny reality. I knew it was absurd. There was no way someone could just discard their memories like that.

However, this realm had long since stopped following reasonable rules. And if there was one person who might be capable of doing something as impossible as that… then most likely, it was her.

Still too shocked, I ran away. I fled from the chemistry lab, leaving behind a reality I didn’t want to face. I ran and kept running until I entered one of the classrooms, slammed the door shut, then leaned against it.

I slid down while my back remained pressed against the door behind me. I sat there, hugging my legs and burying my head into them.

I didn’t know how much time passed while I stayed in that position. When I finally lifted my head, the red-golden light that had once illuminated the school building had been replaced by the gentle glow of the moon.

“I didn’t know there was a passage of time in this stupid realm.”

When I visited Chinatsu’s and Fuyuki’s realms, the sky never changed. I thought this realm would forever be bathed in the afternoon sun, but it seemed I was wrong.

I stared at the crescent moon clearly visible through the classroom window. My gaze was empty. Yet, looking at such a simple scene was enough to help me reorganize my thoughts.

I stood up and dusted off my back. Rubbing my eyes roughly, I steeled my resolve to face my other self once more.

“Hello there.”

“GAAAA—!!!!”

When I opened the classroom door, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. The girl I wanted to meet was already standing right beside the door. She was still wearing her uniform and lab coat like before. However, she was no longer wearing a gas mask—instead, she was holding a flashlight in her hand.

After sunset, the school became dark. Especially with no lights turned on. Carrying a flashlight while walking through a dark building like this was normal. But please don’t just appear out of nowhere like that! I swear my lifespan just shortened by ten years, you know!

“You see, I’ve been thinking about it this whole time. About who you are? How you ended up in this place? Why your face and name feel familiar? And why you suddenly ran away earlier?”

When she mentioned the part about “running away,” all I could do was give a bitter smile. Fortunately, she had no intention of highlighting that and continued on.

“However, with how little data I have, I can’t jump into a conclusion. That’s why I want to gather information first.”

“Gather information?”

The language this girl used was far too difficult for me to understand. I couldn’t grasp what she was really trying to say.

Still, I felt like this wasn’t the first time I had dealt with someone like her. Thinking back on it, she reminded me of Himeji—but in a different version.

While I was still struggling to process her words, the girl extended her hand. I looked at the outstretched hand before shifting my gaze to the person offering it.

“My name is Akira. And you?”