1

"Sana?"

Kazuki turned around, closing the tab on his computer in one swift motion.

"How are you feeling? Where's Hikari?"

Her amber eyes squinted, and Kazuki took that as a cue for a follow-up question.

"She fell asleep and you snuck out? Come, Sana. Let's get you back to bed."

Before he could stand, however, the yellow-haired girl gripped him by the sleeve. That was followed by the girl shaking her head with such vigor that the feather hairclip of hers dropped to the floor.

"You can't, Big Bro...!" she said in a very restrained shout.

"Okay, okay," conceded Kazuki, gently pulling her hand off and returning her hair accessory. He sat on his bed, finding himself in the position he was just a night ago.

"Hikari's asleep. She got really tired, and I caused a lot of trouble for her, didn't I?"

"Is that what this is all about? Don't sweat it, Sana. And I'm sure that Hikari won't take it against you. Heck, it's like her second nature to be super responsible."

Sana hung her head before giving him a meaningful gaze.

"I am also here to say sorry to you."

"Me?"

Sana nodded her head before hopping to the bed, right beside Kazuki. Before he can say anything, she grabbed him by the sleeve. With those tender hands of hers, she had a surprisingly tense and firm grip, almost crumpling part of the sleeve in her arm.

"Please don't hate me for lying, Big Bro!"

"O-oi... what brought this about?"

"A while ago, when Hikari told you about the truth, I saw the look on your face, and you quickly ran away with Yuki-tan."

"Ah, so that's it, huh?" Kazuki paused, looking at the girl with understanding eyes. He pondered his words before speaking up. "I'm the one who should apologize for scaring you. Sorry that I didn't think about how you would feel."

"It happened right after Hikari told you about the wisps and my headache, so... I'm feeling that..."

Her voice cut off along with her lips curling into a frown.

"Something's not adding up. Why would you think that?" asked Kazuki.

"I haven't told you yet, but the reason for my fight with Mama is..."

She took deep breaths between her words. Words said while her lips trembled and her eyes shifted.

"She found out about my condition."

"Your condition?" asked Kazuki, the statement having piqued his interest. "You mean the things you've been seeing and the dreams?"

He quickly made the connection between it and the incident at the aquarium this morning. It had to be something to do with her dreams, the things she had been seeing, and more. Those things weren't exactly the most acceptable or digestible ones to ordinary people's minds, so he had an idea where this conversation was going.

"She's always judgmental. She brags about all her accomplishments and tells me how she's always giving me her money for me not to waste."

"The first thing people would say is something along the lines of 'Maybe she's not so bad, and that's her way of showing she cares for you,' but I think—"

"She's definitely not that kind of mother!"

The air inside the room burst. Or at least that's how it felt for Kazuki.

He flinched, startled by the sudden outburst from the girl. It was a side of Sana that he did not expect coming out now. She never had this fire in her, but looking at her, it was as if the teary beads in her eyes hid a gaze of anger.

"Woah, take it easy. Deep breaths. One. Two. One. Two."

"S-s-sorry..."

"As I was about to say, I do not think that way. It certainly is messed up."

"She never treated me like a daughter like the way you, Hikari, and my current classmates do. I hate it. I hate how she always separates me from my friends, how she always tells me that I need to have the top grades in school and follow her footsteps."

"That's pretty bad."

"She always sticks her nose in my business, and because of her, I cannot meet so many of my friends anymore. T-that's why... T-that..."

Letting it all go, she pounced onto Kazuki, taking him down and smothering her face onto him.

"That's why I willingly ran away from home. I told her about everything, all our happy memories, all the fun I had with Hikari, Maria, and the rest of the classmates, the concert, and all she could say were bad things about all of you."

She slammed her clenched fist on the bed repeatedly. Kazuki kept quiet, but he could tell that the girl was holding back tears of frustration.

"I should not have attended the concert because she heard of the accident. I should not have gone to the festival, and I would have avoided the earthquake. It's always don't do that, shouldn't be wasting time on that, it's dangerous doing that, I hate it!"

Having heard enough, Kazuki placed his hand on Sana's back and gave her several pats. He then proceeded to gently rub his other hand on her head, holding her close.

"That's enough," he said in the softest manner he can. "I understand everything."

"I don't want to leave. I don't want you to hate me because I want to stay here with you and Hikari, forever. We'll live a happy life together."

Knowing that he was in a position where Sana cannot see his face, he frowned. He already had an idea what he was dealing with, but this was a decision he didn't think he had the right to make. Worse yet, he knew that time was not on their side.

Whether Sana were to admit to it or not, it was only a matter of time before her mom would start a search. Jerk or not, there's no way a mother would just let her daughter off like that... right? That happening will give even more trouble to both his family and Sana herself.

"So you plan on running for good?" asked Kazuki. His tight breaths synchronized with Sana's pulsing heartbeat as the girl continued holding him close, resting her head against his heart.

Sana raised her head, staring straight at him. She nodded repeatedly.

"That's impossible to do. No matter how hard you run, no matter how hard you deny things, try to pretend they never exist, it is simply impossible."

"W-what do you mean?"

In spite of seeing Sana's eyes that gave him a strong sense of guilt, Kazuki continued, his resolve firm.

"I know because I tried it myself. I pretended that I did not need the world. That Amagi and Shiki were all I needed," he looked at the ceiling nostalgically. "That I can just act like things never happened. But I was wrong. The things I did continued to eat away at me, making me commit more mistakes than I would have liked. Perhaps, if I did something differently, things could have turned out different."

As he thought that, he felt as if the faces of both Reijy Ishida and Akane Fujiwara appeared on his wall.

"Big Bro?"

"Remember what I told you last night? We can't keep running forever. I don't want to break it to you, but your mom will soon find us."

"Mama?"

"Even if you say she doesn't care for you, doesn't she care about her own reputation? Either way, she will start looking for you. Run away from Shiroki City? You know Hikari and I can't do that."

Seeing her face go downcast, Kazuki quickly tapped her on the back before looking her in the eye.

"There's no way to go but to face her head on, but don't you worry, Sana. Don't you remember what I said? Hikari and I will be there for you. We will make sure to convince her and change her mind about us!"

Hearing that, Sana got off the bed and gave a bow.

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"T-thank you..." she tilted her head while fidgeting her fingers. "I knew I can count on you. A-actually... I was scared to tell people of my feelings, but you always made me feel safe."

"Appreciate the kind words."

"I hope you'll always be my Big Bro. No matter what happens... or when I grow up, perhaps something more?"

"W-what do you mean?" nervously asked Kazuki, only for him to be greeted by a mischievous smile.

"I cannot lose to Yuki-tan. Even if she's my favorite idol."

"Sana..." groaned Kazuki. "What did she teach you on that raft ride?"

Sana giggled in response. "Nothing. Thanks for listening, and good night."

She got off Kazuki's bed. "Don't worry, Big Bro. You won't find me under your sheets tonight," she finished with a giggle.

Kazuki just shook his head before playfully smiling back.

Looking to be at peace, for the time being at least, Sana left the room while Kazuki lay down his bed.

He prepared to sleep having a feeling he won't be waking up with her under his blanket this time.

To wrap up his nightly routine, he got back to his phone to check the news, specifically the one filled with requests for finding missing individuals. This often became his lead for the nightly patrols through Fragments the next day.

Nothing strange came up, much to his relief.

That was when his eyes caught the sight of a fresh request.

The moment he saw it, his entire body froze.

2

As night continued to envelope Shiroki City, most of the establishments and roads, once brimming with life, had become devoid of activity. Even the world-class giant mall of Eden was no exception.

However, there were two individuals who walked inside the aquarium, having gotten special permission from the Ishida Conglomerate's higher ups.

Two long haired individuals. A long coat wearing young adult with silver hair and a teenage girl with black hair.

"Ever since we came in here, you had that nostalgic look on your face," commented Izaya. "Something that reminded you of Senri, perhaps."

"We're here on a mission. Focus."

Izaya smirked as he gave Sayaka Uehara a pitiful look. "No need to act so stiff. Dr. Kagami's calculations, along with the equipment we have procured from the Ishidas, haven't ever failed me. We may not sense it now, but that's only because we're still far from where the incident was."

Uehara stopped in her tracks.

"I can't believe it. All the while, I thought that you're just one brooding grand master who says creepy things. Fits your job description, perfectly, too. Who would have thought you're so... unfocused and scatterbrained?"

"Some people say that the strongest flex is not finding the need to show off. Erm... did I get that teenager lingo right? Flex is the right term?" Izaya looked up the ceiling, his eyes crossing the many jellyfish decorations hanging from the ceiling.

"Shut up."

"I'm not here to rule over people. As I have said, I look at Euphoria, and to that note, the rest of the city, as people in need of help, people who struggle needlessly in this broken system. They deserve compassion, love, and justice. With the power from the Akashic Records, we can give them that. I fight not to stand above all but to be a benevolent person giving the gift of salvation."

Uehara did not answer, opting to fix her eyes on a nearby exhibit of octopi. In this moment of silence, Izaya moved next to her, his eyes likewise admiring the creatures that glistened yellow and blue.

"Kiyone loved the sea. She always loved traveling, but we differed a bit in our preferences. Haven't you ever wondered what it was like down the depths of the seas? What lay beyond the horizon when you're relaxing on a beach, the gentle sea breeze making you forget your problems?"

Uehara did not reply at first, but she soon started talking in whispers.

"Big Brother also felt that way. He always told me about wanting to see what goes beyond the oceans. He told stories of a world he can only dream of, stories he only heard from people or read from books. Someplace he wanted me to enjoy. Pipe dreams from our position those years, but..." she continued.

"It's that thread that allowed our visions to intersect," interrupted Izaya before he turned away from the octopus exhibit, focusing on the hallway that led to the underwater tunnel. "Thus, Senri and I could be what you could call a dream team. Instead of a person being superior over another, we were equals, and he was much like how Kiyone or Miyuko could have been."

Uehara turned her eyes to Izaya, and she saw a look of frustration on the usually confident face. She turned to look at another exhibit before remembering the words her brother had told her. He had promised her that they will go see the beach one day, have some fun with the wildlife, relax with drinks during sunset.

She wondered how their lives would have been had he not stumbled upon Mu and its power.

Not a chance.

Mu was the place that made the impossible possible. A dimension that defied logic and had the potential to bend reality. It was their biggest hope of being free from both their parents and their lifestyle as runaways. It was the only road in which her brother could take to quickly raise the both of them out of the pit of despair they were in.

What if it was only because of her that the whole thing came to be? Had it not been for his immense love for her and his heart for people, would he had taken in the responsibility of being an Awakener?

"Now, now, looks like you're the one spacing out," teased Izaya. When Uehara returned to her senses, she blinked only to see that her companion had left her side, having gone ahead of her towards the shark area linked to the underwater tunnel.

"Ugh... it's not what you're thinking!" snappily answered Uehara before sprinting to Izaya's side.

The two went through the underwater tunnel, soon finding themselves in the rest area.

"According to the cameras, this is where the incident took place. The aquatic creatures went wild, somehow in response to the commotion caused by a parent and child."

Uehara walked towards the closed coffee stand while thinking about the matter at hand.

It was faint, but she could sense a bit of Mu's power in the area surrounding them. Not enough to spawn a Fragment or connect to the ancient city, but it was there.

"That can't be right. How could an argument like that be the cause of residual traces of Mu's power?"

"Your hypothesis looks more and more correct," said Izaya. With a hand on his chin, he carefully looked at the surroundings, stopping when his gaze reached the bench beside the window.

"What gives?"

"Can you guess the people who were here today?"

The black-haired girl did not answer, her mind having connected the dots almost instantaneously.

"Kazuki Arata, Yui Kimura, Hikari Arata, and Sana Kurashiki. If your hypothesis is indeed correct, having the residual power of the Magna Arbiter could have amplified the energy, creating this phenomenon."

He leaned closer to the window, his eyes set on the fish that swam on with ignorance. "...To the point where even these creatures were affected."

"T-that..." Uehara pursed her lips.

"Check this out."

Izaya brought out his phone, showing an article. Rather, it was a search warrant. And on it was a little girl with a bob cut and a feather ornament on her hair.

"Posted just a few minutes ago," he followed.

Uehara's eyes widened.

"The pieces are coming together."

"The two girls know me, and I will make sure to convince them."

"What if they refuse?"

Uehara went silent. She then looked at Izaya with resolute eyes.

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