Chapter 20 - The Heart is a Fragile Thing

Akari stared at herself, the person staring back from the mirror unrecognizable to herself. Wearing a bright pink dress, completely foreign to her, a knock on the door to the room made her leap from her seat.

“Come in…”

The door opened as Hotaru stood next to her with a smile.

“Hey there! So, your coronation begins in a couple of minutes! You excited?”

“Pretty much. This is a once in a lifetime thing!”

Hotaru straightened her back. “Alrighty so here’s how it'll go… You’ll walk out, deliver a speech and they’ll place a crown on your head almost like a real princess! Think you can do it?”

“Motivation is my middle name. I’ll make them watch. I’ll make them all watch.”

Hotaru smiled, chuckling to herself. “You always do, you go on missions. Come back and I think you’re dead.”

“What about you? Didn't you leave the Hayasaka party early?

Hotaru remembered the whole night from the day before, shaking off the memory to face Akari head on.

“Hehe… I might’ve gotten a little too much to drink.. B-but that doesn’t matter right now! What matters is that you’re a star now! A real star!”

“And soon, I’ll be even brighter than that. This is only the first step.”

Hotaru smiled, “Right you are, Akari!”

She snapped her head to the side. “Akari-sama.”

Hotaru fiddled with her hands nervously. “Right… Akari-sama, but apologies…”

Akari turned back to the mirror, keeping a stoic expression on her face.

“Speaking of… Akari-sama, would you like me to invite your teammates…?”

She stared into the mirror for a bit, before shaking her head.

“No need. They’ll be here.”

Yuto bled, but silently knelt, his entire body covered in bruises, his wrists raw from countless escape attempts.

“Whew, beating on you is a good stress reliever…” Kento exclaimed. He knelt down, grabbing Yuto’s hair. “Sadly for me, I have to watch your wife show off her ego. But I’ll be back right after. Don’t die yet, ‘kay? We’ll save that for tomorrow." He patted Yuto’s face, before exiting the cell.

…Akari…? I… won’t let things end like this.

The blood on the floor twitched. A ripple in the red pool. He smiled, for a second, before exhaling.

“Ryota!” Rika shouted from her mini-workshop.

The orange haired boy ran in, holding onto the doorframe. “What’s going on?! You’ve been tinkering for a week and it was worrying! Luckily, I’ve been standing outside of your door to keep you safe!”

Rika sighed dramatically. “Gee thanks, but it’s because… my masterpiece is ready.”

Ami sat with Seraphine, laying her head on her shoulder. “...Hey. Sera?” She said,

“Yes, Ami?”

“Can I show you something? I finally put all of the pieces together…”

Seraphine nodded softly. “Sure.”

The two of them rose, and started their walk. “That horrific white knight… I had no idea who it could’ve been. At first, I suspected you, but you were on the train the day it happened. Then, it was Sensei.. Maybe his teleporting was that fast…? It had to be our Principal….” Ami explained.

“You suspect me?” Seraphine retorted.

“No, of course not! You’re my best friend, how could I ever do that?”

The two of them reach the wall where Ami had been a week prior, entering with a soft push.

“Where did you find something like this?”

Ami clutched her blouse. “My powers, they… evolved. I can sense strong emotion, see it… and… remember it.”

Seraphine looked at her curiously. “Remember it?”

“With an important object, I can see the memories of the person to who it belonged, to I think…”

She dug around in her pocket, pulling out the pin that Kagemura had given her. “And this-”

The presence of the pin makes one of the bookshelves pop out, sliding to the slide slowly.

“This is the truth that Kagemura-sensei entrusted me with.”

Ami stepped forward, entering the room behind the shelves.

“...I see.” Seraphine responded.

She followed closely behind Ami.

On top of a building, high above the crowd awaiting Akari’s coronation, Kikyo has her hands together in prayer.

“Are your forces ready, follower of the Blight?” Ranmaru said, stepping closer to her. His follower Rei at his side.

“Of course, the original humans yearn to return. We are more than ready, this is our festival after all.”

The pale-man, Yanagi Sosuke, arrived at the same time.

“If only I could have finished my fight with the girl…”

Ranmaru looked away.

“Disgusting scum.”

Ami entered the room, a mechanical room with a perfect view of the center of the Amatsu Tower, vibrant green energy pouring in. Her eyes widened, as a sudden flood of memories rushed into her brain, she clutched her head, falling to the ground screaming.

“What….?!” She groaned through gritted teeth.

Seraphine stood behind her, not moving her smile an inch.

Ami stood up, trembling.

“S-seraphine…” She whimpered. The girl walked up to her, step by step, “I know, shh.. I know.”

She embraced Ami, holding her tight with the same warmth as always.

“Congratulations. You found what you were looking for.”

Ami lurched forward, as a long white blade poked out from her back. She coughed, blood splattering all over Seraphine’s outfit.

“S-sera…” Ami said, with tear drops falling. “How could you…?”

“How could I?” Her smile finally dropped. “Let’s see… Because it’s fun? I mean, you know the truth right? So answer your own question, genius!” She laughed, the blade still embedded deep into Ami’s chest.

“I have a gift... from the dead.”

In that second, Seraphine clutched her throat, Seraphine’s throat convulsed. A silver coin tore through her lip and clattered onto the stone.

“...A coin?”

Ami chuckled. “Kana… says hi.”

Seraphine glares at her, ripping the blade out. Ami hit the ground with a wet thud. “Don’t you worry, team Hinome will still be together! In the next world, that is. Akari is next, Yuto’s been taken care of… So I guess I'll be paying Rika a visit, if she doesn’t do me a favor and take care of it for me! Hahaha!”

Ami’s pendant clatters to the ground, a green light flickering from it.

Grandma… I’m sorry… I just wanted to believe I could make friends… solve mysteries… If I could come see you again, but with my friends… Would this have been worth it…? Maybe if I can’t… if I can’t carry your wish…! Then… Then….!

Her pendant stayed a solid green, as almost instantly, Akari’s eyes flew open elsewhere.

“Trai..tor… Sorry… love…”

The voice in Akari’s head fades, but her heart knew who was speaking. Akari’s lungs burned. A scream that wasn't hers echoed in the marrow of her bones. A plea. "Traitor." The mirrors in the room shattered—She launched up out of her seat, slamming through the door.

Hotaru stretched her arm out. “Akari, hey, wait, it’s almost time!”

Akari ran, turning into a pink meteor barreling towards the school. Covering a distance of miles within about a second, Akari stopped herself to run across the halls. Her blood runs cold watching as blood leaks from the walls. She breaks the wall down in a singular strike, as the trail leads her to Ami. She rushes over, stumbling over herself picking up her friend.

“Ami…! Ami, wake up, Ami!”

She looked around at the mechanical room, confused.

Her tear drops splash onto Ami’s face, as Akari slumps over sobbing. Her sobs stopped, from a feeling deep within welling up inside her.

Kagemura and Mei sit beside his daughter, watching the TV in the corner of the room.

“...It would seem the coronation of Akari Hoshizawa has been temporarily postponed, due to her absence… No one has been able to locate her position yet,”

Lumen and Bolt pop up on screen, pushing the reporter back.

“If we know Akari, she’s out there doing something good!” Bolt exclaims.

“Fight on, Akari!” Lumen added.

Kagemura turned to Mei, whose expression grew worried.

“On a day this big, if she’s missing then…”

She took off running as fast as her legs could take her.

Akari, not again…!

Chapter 20 - The End.