where the heart is

His finger twitches with a trace of life—dainty and feather-light. Hesitating at the slope of his knuckle, it tickles him with the gentlest of grazes before it resolves itself to its trek. It marches up his bony protrusion, meandering down the underside of his palm, leaving him through his thumb.

Shu cracks open his eyes, watching an ant traverse across the hills and valleys of the picnic blanket before him. The speck of black soon fades into the distance, skirting around glass vials and flasks that impede its path.

He lifts his head further, blinking at the sight of two young girls in a similar position he’s in: laying down with their faces pressed against the blades of grass.

Where on earth is he?

After staring at his small, soft hands, he tries to make sense of his current whereabouts. But he also takes a moment to wonder why he mentally emphasizes the distinction, of large and small hands, to begin with.

He swears he was just at home, trying on the clothes he just made while his family was preoccupied. Since when was he having a picnic outside like this? And a strange one at that. There’s no food or drink to be seen—ignoring the trace amounts of liquid in the glassware that seem dubious. Then there’s also his presumed companions. Although the girls look vaguely familiar, he doesn’t recall having met anyone like-

He winces.

Pushing himself to kneel, he gently clutches the side of his head. Then after feeling the front of his cotton gown and patting his chest, he takes a breath, noting no other sites of pain.

Could a stray ball have hit one of them, and then ricocheted to claim the rest of its victims? That would explain the apparent amnesia and emerging pain, but he finds it hard to believe that none of the vials or flasks chipped, or became outright broken. Not to mention, there’s no ball to be seen, and if someone did come by to retrieve one without checking on them… How rude.

Nevermind that though. While the red-headed girl with braided and looped pigtails has started to shift to a kneel too—looking as discombobulated as he is—the long blue-haired one hasn’t yet moved from laying on her side.

She’s not… dead is she?

“Hey,” Shu says, with a high-pitched voice. “Are you okay?”

The girl stirs in her now apparent slumber, lifting her faceless head. “Mm?”

“What just Happened…?”

Shu looks back at the other girl. She’s scanning the ground, examining the same glassware he did just earlier.

“Not sure. Do you know where we are?”

The girl lifts her head higher, and she looks around one more time before gently shaking her head. “Ugh…” A hand comes up to her forehead in a similar fashion like his own attempt at recalling.

“It’s as I feared.” Shu crawls over to the blue-haired girl, helping her fight off the heavy locks that cascade over her face. “We might have a case of amnesia.”

“Amnesia?! That Means… you Too?”

“Mm.” Shu solemnly nods at her, and after lifting the last chunk of hair up and over Blue’s head, he faces his attention back towards her and asks, “What about y-”

Her veil-like accessory remains over part of her face, resting against the bangs that conceal a bit of her right eye. He can’t tell whether it's the intended orientation of wearing it, or if it’s been displaced from their corrective hairstyling, but he’s so distracted by the gorgeous emeralds that grace her visage to question it.

She blinks in awe at him, as if it’s the first time she’s seen someone so clearly, so close in front of her.

“Um…” She blushes.

Badump. “Oh, sorry.” Shu removes his hand from her head, leaving a stray hair to spring up from being flattened. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

She sits back on her shins, looking at her hands and patting haphazardly across her yukata. “No. Don’t think so?”

“Can you recognize where we are?”

“Let Kanata see…” Like the redhead or like him before, she looks around and then shakes her head, before being afflicted with the same head pain.

Shu exhales. This is not looking good. Three children in the middle of who knows where, unable to recall how they even came to, with little more to their na-

“Wait, Kanata, you said?”

The girl nods. “Shinkai Kanata, to be exact.” She then clasps her hands together, urging him for his response. “May Kanata have your ‘name,’ as well?”

“I’m Itsuki Shu.” It mildly alarms him how magnetic she sounds, to have him carelessly include his own given name to someone he doesn’t completely recognize. Though… rather than feeling threatened by her in any way, he feels the need to keep her safe from threat.

Kanata smiles then looks over expectantly to the redhead.

“Oh, Me? I'm Sakasaki Natsume.” She does a small bow with her neck. “It’s a Pleasure, though I would’ve liked to meet you two in better Circumstances…”

“Well… It’s entirely possible we could have met already—given our current conditions—but even so, it’s also a pleasure.” Shu carefully rises to a stand. “In any case, the circumstances don’t seem completely dire. Since we’re able to recall our names, we may not have lost too many memories after all.”

In the distance, towering above the trees surrounding them, there sits a building that also looks vaguely familiar. Turning his head, he also spots a mass of people in the distance, moving between another patch of trees, towards the direction of a new burst of sound waves. He strains his ears for a few moments, making out the rhythmic pulses. An outdoor live?

“Do you think we came here to see someone perform?”

“What about all of This?” Natsume points at their picnic blanket while Kanata experimentally pokes at a vial, making it roll.

“Perhaps we were walking together, but on the way, we got distracted by the scene?” Shu suggests, watching liquid residue drip onto the blanket and evaporate into a mysterious magenta swirl. “A suspicious set-up like this would warrant an investigation, and those fumes might be the very reason for our predicament…”

“Hmm. Though I find all of this more interesting than Suspicious, you could be Right. Mommy and Daddy are usually Busy, so maybe I did come here to Play.” Natsume stands up as well, un-wrinkling her dress’s skirt with a few strokes. “Do you think you two came here with anyone Else? Maybe we can find them for help First.”

“It’s more likely I came alone, if not with a childhood friend. If he were here, I doubt he would let me out of his sight for so long.” Especially not after that one time, where he had been separated from him, and had to be guided back by a girl with peculiar eyes.

“The same goes for Kanata, but… Kanata’s childhood friend knows that they shouldn’t be let ‘out’ of their room…”

“Eh? Were you grounded or Something?”

“ ‘Grounded’?” Kanata cocks her head. “Kanata’s moth- um, God just doesn’t want them to leave home that often. But Mikejima says it’s ‘unhealthy’ to be ‘cooped up’… and he sometimes brings Kanata these ‘magazines’ of idols. So maybe he covered for Kanata while they snuck out here to watch a performance of one.”

Shu hums.

While the others’ stories aren’t too far-fetched… Try as he might, he can’t come up with any plausible reason for him to have come here, other than gathering inspiration for clothing designs. And that alone could’ve been done through other means. Why a concert, and not the various resources at his disposal back at home?

“Although I made up the theory, I find myself having less of a reason than you two may have to be here… but if we head over to the venue, maybe more of our memories will return?”

“Mmm. Kanata doesn’t mind ‘trying.’ ”

“Yeah, it’s worth a Shot.” Natsume looks down. “Should we be leaving all of this behind Though?”

“Under the assumption that we were just passing by, the owner will surely come back.”

Shu steps onto the nearby path, watching Natsume come to his side and for Kanata to finally get up from her kneel. She’s a little uneasy standing up, but makes it to them with no discernible problem. And with their general direction in mind, following the paved road before them, Shu starts walking with the other two trailing close beside him—that is, until one pair of footsteps starts to slow.

Natsume looks back a little before he does.

“ Hah… hah… ”

Kanata drags one of her sandals to a rest beside her other foot, prompting Shu and Natsume to come to a stop as well.

“Kanata’s feet hurt…”

“Huh? We haven’t even been walking for more than a few meters?!”

Kanata dips her chin and grabs the sides of her yukata. “Sorry… Kanata isn’t strong enough yet to be a true god either.”

“To be one?” Shu mumbles. He then sighs with a small shake of his head. “Well, it can’t be helped.” Stepping closer to Kanata, he drops onto his knee, holding his arms out in front of him. “I’m not as physically tough as Ryuu-kun, but I can try to carry you.”

“Oh!” Kanata looks back up to him. She giggles before she carefully drags her feet to Shu and lays herself into his hold. “Just like Mikejima~”

Once she settles in his arms, Shu grunts, lifting her like a bride. “Up we go.”

“Hehe, yay~” Kanata adjusts her loose hold around his shoulders and neck, growing even more comfortable.

“Wow.”

Kanata feels lighter than he expected, but looking over to the other girl’s awestruck face, Shu says, “I can’t carry both of you.”

Natsume makes a choked noise, then clears her throat. “I-I know That.”

“Now, let’s be off.” Taking care not to step on Kanata’s hair as he walks, Shu continues down the path with Natsume matching his pace.

The scenery feels a little strange to him as he glances around. He feels like he has traversed a similar path before, just at a smaller scale. It feels like he should be able to walk faster too, but maybe it’s because of the increased load on his arms making him wish he could. Taking his eyes off of the area, he looks down at Kanata's face, finding that her eyelids are delicately closed.

“Nn…” she softly breathes.

To fall asleep so quickly in his arms… She must have already been tired to begin with. It’s a wonder how she made it here on her own—but maybe her fascination with idols is just that grand. Commendable, really, if true.

Taking a peek at his side, he catches Natsume averting her gaze. “...Is there grass on my face?”

“Oh. No, it’s Just…” She blushes. “You look real majestic carrying Them. Like you’re a Prince.”

Facing forward again, Shu says, “Well, I’m not a noble, but I am a boy. I should be as chivalrous and elegant as one, if not as elegant as a princess.”

“Eh?” Natsume blinks before realizing something. “Ah. I See,” she mumbles to herself for a moment. “I think I know what you’re talking About. Your mommy Too, Huh?”

“My mother what?”

“Told you to wear that Dress?”

“My mother-” Shu breaks into a laugh. There isn’t anyone in his family that would tell him to. “No,” he says, before adding a little sarcastically, “I wish.”

“Wish…?” Kanata murmurs in his arms before falling asleep again. And when Shu finishes glancing back down, he notices Natsume tilting her head with her eyebrow raising in concern.

Ah- Goodness. Here he is, worrying a young lady with the troubles of another family. “But that’s not important. I like this dress, that’s why I want to wear it when I can.” From her question… “Are you the one who would rather wear pants then?”

Natsume looks up to the sky in contemplation.

“Well… I don’t particularly hate dressing like This. I was frail when I was Younger, and Mommy was concerned about cold and evil Spirits, so she says I need to wear this just to be Safe. I’m also less recognizable as her child Too.” After a pause, she finally smiles and looks back at him. “I love Mommy, so I don’t want to worry Her.”

“That’s sweet of you.” Shu says, returning the expression. “But shouldn’t you be wearing something less lightweight then?”

When it seems like Natsume is about to reply to him, she spots something and points to the near distance. “Oh, Look, there’s a map There!”

Following the direction of Natsume’s finger, Shu sees a small bulletin board-looking structure with, indeed, something that looks like a map of the area. “You’re right.”

The sound of music grows a bit clearer and louder as they pick up their pace. Once they reach the map, they crane their heads up and begin deciphering all of the information presented. It’s a bit overwhelming to try to digest, and Shu’s arms get tired in the process, so he gently places Kanata back onto her feet, lets her hold his hand, and also lets her lean her head against him.

There’s a number of kanji he simultaneously feels like they should and shouldn’t have learned yet, but knowledge discrepancy aside, they figure out where in the world they currently are… with a concerning amount of concentration.

He repeats the location name, like it still doesn’t feel real. “Ensemble Square.”

“A place dedicated entirely to Idols—land courtesy of The… Shinkai Family?”

A small snot bubble pops. “Huh?”

Natsume points at one of the bits of trivia next to the map. “Kanata, is this how you read your family Name? Do you actually live Here?”

She blinks. “Um. Kanata… has a hard time reading, but the map looks familiar?” Tilting her head, she continues, “Kanata doesn’t live here most of the time, if it is the island. But then… there shouldn’t be so many ‘buildings’ around. It was supposed to be only for Kanata’s family and followers to use…”

Her focus becomes faraway, looking somewhere past the image before her.

“That's what God said… What Mother said, before she ‘died’ and-”

Kanata’s hand slips out from Shu’s, and she buries her face with both palms, muffling a pained noise.

“Hey, don’t push yourself…” Shu holds her shoulders. His eyebrows furrow in sympathy, remembering the grief that consumes him each time his grandfather dies.

Natsume hovers close with an unsure hand. “S-Sorry. I reminded you of something painful by Asking.”

“Ah… No,” Kanata slowly uprights herself with Shu helping. “The pain was from trying to remember in ‘general.’ Kanata knows Mother is always watching over them, so they’re not too sad.” She gives Natsume a small smile.

“Oh? Well… I’m glad to hear That.” Natsume relaxes a bit before she looks at Shu. “But now I'm starting to have second Thoughts. Should we really be heading towards the Concert? What if our heads split wide open from the flood of Memories?”

“Hm.” Shu looks down between his feet.

It is concerning, to say the least. So far, it seems that forcing oneself to remember may be the cause of pain. It’s hard to determine if what Kanata experienced just now was because of that, or because of the new influx of memories. Regardless, if seeing a map that merely resembled Kanata’s home is enough to make her hunch over, it might be better to actually go home and then seek medical help.

“You have a point…” He steps to look at the map again. “Maybe we should head back towards one of the bridges off the island,” Shu says, facing back to the girls, “and then take-”

There’s only one girl.

Natsume raises a brow, then looks to her vacant side.

Shu stares. “Where is Kanata?”

After whipping their heads around, they spot her halfway across a patch of grass, running towards a group of children that carry some kind of mask in their hands.

“They’re over There!”

“What happened to feet hurting!?” Mowing over the grass, they take off after her, hurrying into the bustling area she and the other children enter.

A flood of fried goodness fills his nostrils, interlacing with the occasional specialty good. It’s a blur of legs, food stall signs, fan merchandise and the like. If not for Shu’s current worry, he could see himself be absorbed in the festive atmosphere. Even their hurried footsteps seem to be in time with the call-and-response cheers, as they grow closer to the performance’s vicinity.

The tail that is Kanata’s hair—snaking behind her—weaves in and out of view in the near distance, obscured behind clusters of people and the sway of bags; it’s fae-like and taunting. He pumps his fists back and forth, panting as he simultaneously keeps an eye on Natsume in front of him.

“Wait! Slow… down!”

“But then We’ll-”

Shu gasps, “Watch it!”

“Huh?” Natsume turns her face in time to see who they’re barrelling towards.

“Oh, so that’s why yer not with Tsukasa-kun.”

“NewDi still has Mama and little Sora-chan, so I thought-”

“Ah! Coming Through!”

The couple barely has a second to contort themselves away from their middle.

“Ngaah?!” “Oh, my!”

Badump. In the next few steps after squeezing between the pair, an alarming heart pang seizes Shu’s heart in the midst of his adrenaline. He abruptly slows to a stop, turning his head to look behind him and meet a gaze from a recent memory.

The black-haired man stares back at him with his peculiar eyes, frozen in his dodging stance.

“Hey, we’re going to lose sight of Them!”

Shu snaps out of his reverie with a blink, then resolves to bow his head to the man and his blonde friend in an apology. He lingers for a bit, before turning once more and closing the distance between him and Natsume.

That was strange; it’s all Shu can make of that brief encounter, when he’s desperately trying to keep a head of red within his vision. The second a group of people obscure the last bit of Natsume’s hair, Shu curses, skirting around another food stall line and nearly tripping in the process. He spins once, reorienting himself and praying he hasn’t just lost both of them. But a couple more hurried steps later, the way clears up again, and Shu spots Natsume slowing to a jog towards Kanata’s slowly growing figure.

Shu sighs after stopping to catch his breath. He clutches his heart, carefully making the rest of his way over, and watching as Kanata manages to single out one of the children from the group.

Pinched by the sleeve, a brown-haired boy stops in his tracks.

“Chi…” Kanata winces. “-aki?”

“Huh?” The boy turns his head to look at Kanata. “Oh, you mean Ryusei Red?” He grins, excitedly continuing. “You’re here to see him and Ryusei Black, right? Well, you’re in the right place, they’re gonna loop back to them in a bit!” Shifting to rejoin his friends, he then shouts without looking back, “You’d better hurry if you wanna get the last good spots too!”

Kanata blinks, hand still hovering in the air.

The boy gets teased by a few head noogies upon his reunion. And before his friend group heads off toward the larger crowd gathered around a stage, they put on their red and black masks off-center—covering more of the sides of their heads than their faces—then rush off to the sea of penlights.

“Red…? Black?” Kanata mumbles.

“Kanata!”

Turning to look at Natsume, she drops her hand.

“Agh,” Shu exhales. “What possessed you to chase after a group of boys? Are you already at that age?”

“Oh.” Kanata looks between Natsume and Shu, noting their worn dispositions. She droops in posture again. “Kanata’s sorry… They thought they saw someone ‘familiar,’ but they actually didn't know them. Kanata isn’t fully sure why they called out the name that they did either.”

Upon hearing that, Shu’s irritation gradually evaporates. While fruitless, it was a productive attempt to get closer to someone from all of their spotty memories nonetheless. “…Then I guess that’s fine, but please don’t run off like that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Kanata perks back up. “Okay, I won’t~”

“That’s a bummer Though,” Natsume sighs. “Did he at least know who you were talking About?”

“Mm, dunno… Kanata thinks he misunderstood, because he went on about these colors of… ‘Ryusei.’ ” When she says the adjective, her lips stutter, and the last vowel of it trails as if there were more to it.

A group of cheers in the background erupt, following the fade-out of an instrumental arrangement.

“Thank you, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed our songs!”

What an angelic voice. Shu looks over to the small figures on stage, eyes shimmering the moment he lays eyes on the two. The both of them are wearing such squeezably-cute outfits, and that boy who just spoke… He’s just his type…!

“It sure flew by, huh? Not to worry, though! We’ll hop back on the second it’s RhythLin again!”

“Hajime-chin, I get being excited to perform, but I think we’d be cutting some people in Undead there~”

“Oh, right!” Hajime playfully knocks on his head with a fist. “Guess I goofed.” There’s a few laughs that ripple throughout the crowd before Hajime continues. “But without further ado, let’s have the cool Suou-kun from Knights come up on stage~!”

Clap, clap, clap… The three of them watch as the pair of idols disappear from view.

“Does Shu want to watch the next few Performances?”

“Huh? But what about…”

“Personally, I’m a little worried Still, but since we’re Here…” Natsume looks from him to Kanata. “We can pipe up if it’s too Much, Right?”

“Mhm~ Shu said he didn’t have much of a ‘reason’ to be here, but he seems quite interested.”

Shu blushes. “I-I was just-”

“A big  thank you  to Ra*bits for the warm welcome. It’s a great  pleasure  to be opening up for NewDi.”

Natsume laughs, grabbing both of their hands. “Come On, let’s try and find a good place to Watch.”

In the time it takes for the Suou lad to give an introduction of him and his agency, Natsume manages to lead them through the crowd, skirting by each fan, into a sizable gap left by two ladies. And while they’re by no means in the center anymore, it’s a clearer view unobstructed by broad backs or clusters of heads.

Tsukasa bows like his unit’s namesake, prior to the instrumental of his song. It’s elegant, but upbeat, and Shu finds himself at the mercy of his choreography. There are points where the boy seems to make small mistakes, but to those who aren’t looking for them, they might not even know from how he manages to cover for them.

By the end of the three songs he’s sung, Shu feels that his heart has been moved by the lyrics—just like a princess would her knight’s oaths. He claps with the others as Tsukasa wraps up his segment, both as an impressed audience member, and as an artist. He might yet have more inspiration for designs after all.

“…and make way for one of the kingdom’s court magicians!”

Poof! Tsukasa vanishes within a cloud of magenta smoke, leaving behind a familiar swirl of mystique. Some of the crowd gasps as they look around the stage for where he could have gone, but their attention is quickly redirected when a voice from high above is projected: “HaHa~! HiHi~!”

It’s yet another blonde idol, one whose cuteness doesn’t quite reach the one from before, but he’s a worthy contender…!

He waves from the side-saddle mount of his broomstick, pointing his microphone in various directions like a wand, firing a stream of sparkly material into the sky. When the broomstick lowers halfway down the height of the stage, the boy boldly jumps off, making a somersault and landing safely.

The boy twirls once, as the broomstick flies off stage, and then he strikes a pose. “Casting magic for everyone’s happiness~ Sora of Switch, at your service!”

“Sora…” Natsume’s eyes shine beside Shu.

It’s not Halloween, but there’s no chance to argue, nor a need to, when the cheerful tune and lyrics make their case. The boy’s performance is colorful in all aspects—vocals, dance, stage effects—it must’ve taken a while to get it just right.

Underneath the fan-chants, Shu can even catch Natsume occasionally joining the infectious energy with a hum.

By the end of his second song, it seems that Sora is about to do a third one like Tsukasa, but he makes a hand signal behind his back that, if viewed from the front, would be mostly hidden.

“Thank you!”

Shu takes the time to lean closer to Natsume. “Say, do you know him? Earlier you said his name as if you did.”

The smile she makes is a little bittersweet. “No. The boy I know Of…”

“Sora hopes his magic stays with everyone’s hearts. But until next time, Mama MaM will be here to watch over you all~”

“They may have the same given name and Looks, but I have a hard time believing he can smile like That.” She looks back up, watching the blonde make his exit by waving energetically. “I hope he can, one day.”

If it isn't for how sensitive it seems, Shu would’ve liked to ask more. “I may not know him as you do, but I hope so too.”

Upon the first, and almost obnoxious, burst of bagpipes that blare next, Natsume’s expression lights up with more mirth again.

“And heeere’s… Mamaaa!”

Galloping onto the stage, the man makes a finger gun and points it to the left side of the audience, to the right, then, from the back of his pocket, he takes out an actual gun.

Bang!

Red, orange, and green. The colors rain down in tiny pieces, while the flag jutting out of the gun flops down with gravity. After winking, the man spins the gun on his finger and uses the momentum to fling it to a staff member, off stage.

Then, as Mama strokes his chin, he acts concerned. “Hmm~ What was I supposed to say again?” He waves it off. “Bah, I think a magician already handled it. Let’s resume the festivities!”

The man gives a brief line dedicated to the new song that’s starting, one that he’s proud to announce as his solo—though if he’s the only one of his unit, aren’t all his songs going to be solos?

It’s arguably a step down in terms of tension, or excitement, but a necessary one after being held in a high state with the previous performance. Regardless, he sings with warmth, with a heart he feels attuned to. But just like a summer breeze, soon the last chord of his final song decays, cross-fading with the cheers of the audience.

At Shu’s side, a sound cuts through the noise: sniffle.

“Kanata?” Oh- She’s been especially quiet since Mama started. Has he been too absorbed in the live to not notice if she’s been silently suffering, unable to speak…?

Some of her hair obscures her eyes as she slowly turns to him.

“You might think this is the end of our festive live, but fine has yet to arrive! With that said, let’s have a word from the head~”

Grabbing onto his arm with enough urgency that alarms him, she pleads, “Kanata…” And after lifting her head, her eyes shimmer, with a smile complementing her blush. “Kanata has to go home! They have to go home and tell Mikejima about the sparkling ‘idols’ they saw! Like the ones in his magazines! And that he can be just like a real Mama!”

Shu blinks before he relaxes, smiling with a small exhale through his nose. “That’s what we’ve been thinking about before we came here. If Natsume doesn’t mind leaving a little early, should we start making our way back?”

“I don’t Mind, but I think it’s me who should be asking you That.” Natsume teases. “You sure you don’t want to stick around until RhythLin for that Blonde, Hm?”

Kanata giggles while Shu sputters. “Again, th-that was just-”

“Teehee~ It's nice to see you all again~!”

He had thought both of the blondes were short, but this pink-haired idol skipping onto the stage is even shorter.

“And for the ones just trickling in, welcome to the start of a new round. Unfortunately, two of our members aren’t here today, but…”

The next boy who has emerged is even more princely than his peer, almost emperor-like, strutting tall and proud.

Shu narrows his eyes at him, watching those delicate fingers adjust the grip on his microphone. Objectively speaking, his voice is soothing and heavenly, and the pure impression goes hand-in-hand with his looks, yet there’s something so punchable about that face of his. In fact, the more he looks at him, insurmountable rage begins to fester in his chest.

It’s monotone beside him: “Let’s Go.”

“Yeah.” “Mm.”

The food stalls are still bustling when they make their way back to the area. Now that they’re not separated, it’s easier to safely maneuver around everyone in the way, even if they’re linked by the hands in a three-wide arrangement. At the very least, it’s a more welcoming atmosphere now that they don’t have to see that guy’s face for a second longer.

Natsume remains unimpressed when she asks, “You all felt it back there Too, Right?”

“If you mean that unpleasant sensation, then yes.” Shu shakes his head. “What an unfortunate end to the string of lovely performances we’ve watched.”

“Kanata thought it was a little ‘unpleasant’ too, but their head didn’t hurt? Kanata is more concerned about you two.”

Come to think of it, it didn’t hurt either. Maybe it is because they didn’t try and recall so forcefully, but rather have a memory come through in reaction. There’s a part of him that wonders if he should’ve stayed, but a part of him that seems almost scared and relieved with not having to remember anything more through that man.

“Other than being irritated, I’m alright.”

“Yeah, it didn’t hurt my Head, But…” Natsume looks down. “Either Way, it seems like that wasn’t enough to trigger the rest of our Memories. Though we were preparing to go home right before he showed up Anyways.” She haughtily tilts her head back up. “So Whatever.”

“Right. I was in the middle of suggesting that we should take a bus to the nearest train station,” Shu says.

“Wasn’t there a closer One?”

“For idols.”

“Ah…”

“Do you two have enough for the fare? If not, I should be able to cover it.”

After unlinking their hands, Natsume checks her dress’s pocket over the right side of her chest, and Kanata digs into the depths of both her yukata sleeves, but they unfortunately come up empty handed.

“Goodness, did you two really walk here?” Shu feels for his coin purse inside of his own pocket. “Good thing I-” Shu stops walking, shoving more of his hand deeper into his dress, before slowly pulling it out. “…don’t have the means either.”

Did he ever?

“To begin With, I don’t remember carrying anything with Me?” And when Natsume questions Kanata with her glance, the girl shakes her head too, agreeing.

“And Kanata doesn’t remember buying anything from here to become ‘broke.’ ”

Shu grimaces with a hand coming up to his head. “Well, this is a problem if we want to get home.”

“I’d rather not have to Walk… It’d probably take us hours Too.”

“Then what can Kanata and everyone do?”

“…It might be a little sketchy, but we could try busking.”

“Without a Permit, on privately owned Land?”

“That’s why I said it might be sketchy.”

“But… since everyone seems so ‘merry’ here, it might be less frowned upon?” Kanata lifts a finger up to her chin, batting her eyelashes. “And if Kanata and everyone does get in trouble, we can play dumb~?”

“That’s-” Natsume looks as surprised as Shu feels, but then her features settle into an expression befitting an impressed Dragon Lady, rather than an innocent child. “Not a bad Idea. I like the way you Think.”

Shu doesn’t have the heart to comment. Not when he realizes that he shouldn’t be surprised, considering Kanata apparently snuck out of her room to be here. While he disregards how mildly concerned he is, to be willfully accepting of both girls’ mischievous side, Shu scans the area for a suitable spot. “How about there then?”

He points at the spot in question, a place between two vendors that hasn’t been claimed yet.

“We’ll need to stick out a bit more if we’re going to busk There.”

“Not to worry, I have an idea for that as well.”

 

 

After receiving some cardboard boxes, a spare box cutter, and a few markers from the neighboring stalls’ generosity, the three of them make their way back to their spot, and let Shu work his hands.

Click-click, click, click… The cutter exposes and hides itself in the sunlight, glinting with each peek. “Ooh.”

Natsume sweats. “Um, Kanata, maybe you should hand over the blade back to one of Us.”

“I need it right now actually,” Shu says from his kneel.

“Oh, okay~” The tool is gently placed into Shu’s palm.

Click, click. Shu slices and flattens some more boxes, remembering to put aside one of the smaller ones for collecting their profits. Laying the pieces over the ground, next to his finished ones, he then freehands a few elegant lines to embellish the edges, adding small symbols of card suits here and there.

With the girls hovering behind him, Shu makes one last sweeping gesture with his arm, leaving a tail with his stroke of ink. “There.” He severs the side of the last box from the rest of its body, picking it up and revealing it to the girls.

“Whoa…” “That’s Incredible.”

Shu smirks. “Hmph, I’ve been studying the principles of design as of late. This is nothing.”

“Eccentric Showtime,” Natsume reads the sign aloud. “Hm. I can’t help but think the title’s Familiar.”

“If you’re accusing me of plagiarizing, I did no such thing. You saw for yourself in real time—the aesthetics simply came to me with you two as inspiration.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like That. It probably just reminds me of some poker-themed and carnival-esque designs in General. These motifs you used are common in Them.”

“Kanata thinks Shu made a ‘wonderful’ and ‘flashy’ sign… but now what?” She cocks her head.

“Oh.” Shu blushes. “Well…”

He didn’t think this far. They have a stage (pieces of a platform, really) and some attractive signage, but they’ll still need an act. It’s not as if he can offer to sew a shirt within a minute, and they’re not in possession of any instruments he’s able to play. He could try singing perhaps, maybe even dance to the beat of the live in the background, but his ability to improvise on the spot is lamentable.

Natsume hums. “If I had some of my stuff back at Home, I could’ve performed Magic.”

“Magic?” Shu blinks.

“Yep, magic.” Natsume smiles widely. “Alchemy, sleight of Hand, Divination… I love it All. But not to Worry, you could say I still have a trick up my Sleeve.”

She hops onto their stage—which isn’t even elevated higher than the cardboard’s width—then twirls once. When she stops, she strikes a pose with a peace sign near her head, winking.

“It was just for a few Weeks, but leave it to your resident prodigy Dancer.”

Shu and Kanata tilt their heads, but they take their places near the sides, with Kanata taking a seat in the cardboard box, and Shu simply standing.

Natsume stands in position, feet pointing to the side of the stage with her eyes closed. She feels the pulses of instrumental music carrying through the air, tapping her foot, nodding her head with the rhythm of the percussion. People continue to pass by, throwing the occasional glance as they walk, but Natsume simply snaps her head to the front of the stage, looking straight on and pointing a finger toward her intended audience.

Then she smiles.

She slips her thumb underneath the pad of her middle finger, flips her hand, and flows into the start of her dance with a resounding snap.

The moment Shu catches her determined gaze, still directed towards the spot she’s focused on in front of her, all he can do is stare. For just a second, a flash of atmospheric pink and blue lights appear before his eyes, crystallized in front of a large, red tori gate. Natsume then extends the rest of her fingers out, opening her palm like an invitation to a brand new world; it beckons him, captures him, and commands his attention.

Badump.

Shu feels his eyes start to dry, necessitating a regrettable blink.

 

 

After their most recent patron tosses a coin in the small cardboard box near Kanata’s seat—“Thank you ‘lots’!”—Natsume turns around and lets her idol-ish smile drop.

“Ugh.” Her shoulders slump. “Shu’s penmanship and graphic designs are Good, but with an actual live Nearby, it’s still hard to gather enough Attention…”

The next sigh she heaves comes as another group of cheers in the distance erupt, welcoming the next idols and their introduction jingle.

“Mm…? That sounds familiar.”

“It seems like it’s those Ryusei guys that boy mentioned to you earlier.”

It’s a bit less clear now that they’re farther out, but from the cadence of their voices, they each spout a sort of catchphrase, posing, then assume the position of their announced song like that Sora kid.

Kanata keeps her attention on the direction of the stage, until the first of the lyrics are sung. “Hm, hm-hm… ♪ ” She faces back forward, resting her eyes and gently swaying her head with the beat. “Hm, hm-hm. Laaa~ La-la-la ♪ ”

Before Shu can ask how Kanata is able to guess the melody with such accuracy, he notices that a few of the guests around them start to slow in their walks.

“La… la-la, la-la-la~ ♪ ”

Seizing the opportunity, Natsume dances back into place, turning her cute charms back on and beaming them straight into their audience’s hearts.

A child is first to run closer to them, stopping with a respectable bubble of distance, then a few teenagers, young-adults, a family…

“Lala~ La-la, ah-? ♪ ” Kanata opens her eyes, pulled to a stand with the help of Natsume. “Ehe~! Lalala… ♪ ”

The two of them twirl around on stage, stepping in time with the music and with each other. They fit together so naturally, even if they’re not making the same moves, it’s hard to believe this is spontaneous.

When Natsume shoots a look at him, Shu feels himself blush, freezing in place when she steps toward him with her hands out. His eyes widen as he takes hold of them. I-I can’t improvise!

That’s Okay. Natsume only smiles. We’re not competing or Anything, let’s have fun with It.

Step. She pulls gently, encouragingly, nothing to strain the ligaments in his wrists. Step, step… There’s a small give of the cardboard when Shu places his weight on his foot, then his other one, and it’s strange how much of a difference it makes standing on what should only be a few feet away.

“Lala, lala ♪ ” Kanata twirls, giving space for Natsume to similarly spin Shu around, before taking him off of her hands for herself. “Hehe~”

They shift into a sort of shuffle with one another, off-sync, but once Shu gradually lets himself feel the beat of the music—guided by the flow of Kanata’s voice—he acclimates to the dance. And when he’s taken out of his groove, with Natsume grabbing his hand again, as well as Kanata’s, he doesn’t mind, smiling as the three of them side-step within their circle.

If this is how it feels to stand on stage with them, he wouldn’t mind becoming an idol.

 

 

When the piece of cardboard Shu holds starts to drag, he adjusts both his grip on it and on his stick of grilled mochi.

“You two could have gotten those meat ‘skewers’ you wanted first. Kanata wouldn’t have minded being the ‘odd’ one out.”

Swallowing her bite, Natsume interjects, “Food tastes better when it’s shared Though.”

Shu hums. “And these are just satiating enough to not ruin my appetite. I’d like for a proper lunch when I get back, personally.” After chucking the last bit of cardboard into the food vendors’ designated area for recycling, he finishes off his rectangle of mochi, throwing the stick away where it also goes. “I hope you’ll have more of what you're able to eat back home too.”

After the girls eat their remaining bites, they similarly toss the sticks into the trash.

“Now, shall we?” Shu smiles, holding out his palm.

“Mm!” Kanata nods, taking his hand and then taking Natsume’s. They make their way out of the venue bubbly, but after a couple paces, their tempo slows, and Kanata sheepishly says, “Um… Kanata’s feet hurt.”

“Pfff!” Natsume deflates with a laugh.

Shu sighs. “Yeah, mine too.”

 

 

As the other passengers board the bus, Natsume shifts so that her back is centered with the seat next to Shu. Then, bending at the knees, she lets Kanata slide off of her piggyback ride.

“Thank you~”

“No Problem.” Natsume settles next to her empty side. “Oh…” She looks down to the ends of Kanata’s hair. “Since you two are a little Taller, your hair got a bit Scuffed. Sorry.”

Kanata shakes her head. “It’s okay, Kanata can have their hair ‘cleansed’ later.”

“Actually, why don’t I braid It? Sitting on it must not feel nice Either.”

“You mean like Natsume’s ‘hair-do’? Sure~”

Kanata leans off of one side of her bottom, to her right, letting Natsume retrieve half of her hair.

“And if Shu could do the other Side?”

“Of course I can,” he says, letting Kanata lean to her left. While he may wear his own short, he has had many chances to weave hair into elaborate styles on his dolls; it’s no difficulty at all.

The both of them gather each side of her hair into three chunks, separated by fingers, working their way downwards.

“Hehehe!”

“Kanata,” Shu cautions, “we may get a pass for being young, but mind your volume in public transit.”

“Oh, sorry,” Kanata says softly, “it’s just, hehe-” She muffles another laugh behind her hands before continuing. “Tingly~”

When Natsume reaches the bottom first, she hums. “Hair Tie…” She becomes sullen for a moment, then brightens with an idea. Holding the braid in one hand she pinches one of her ribbons loose. “You probably need these more than Me.” Then she holds the ribbon out to Shu first, before undoing her other one.

When the rest of Natsume’s locks fall to rest on her shoulders, Shu can’t help but strangely think her haircut is too… even.

“Forgot how to tie One?”

“Oh.” Shu begins wrapping the ribbon around Kanata’s braid. “No, I was just in thought.”

When they both finish their handiwork, Kanata leans her head from side to side, smiling. “Wow. It feels so much… ‘lighter’! Thank you again, hehe.”

One of her braids sits a little higher on one side than the other, but the lopsidedness adds to Kanata’s innate charm.

“You’re Welcome,” Natsume says. “And don’t worry about returning Those. Take them home with you Too.”

“Okay~ Kanata will take them home,” she says. “Kanata will take them… back ‘home.’ ”

The three of them slightly shift to the left before adjusting to the bus’s new speed.

It’s peculiar. Though brief, the time they’ve spent together today was ironically memorable, if not fun. From the delicate and unsure smile Natsume has in reaction, he guesses she may be feeling similarly to him and Kanata—regretful that it won’t be much longer until they part ways.

Shu tugs at his dress from his knee, revealing his calves and reaching downwards to unfasten one of his sock garters.

Clink. “I’d like for you to have this as well.” He leans back up and holds the garter near Kanata’s leg. “May I?”

She hums in a confused manner, but then exposes enough of her leg for Shu to wrap and fasten the garment around her calf. Her leg is thinner than his, requiring him to adjust the snugness as he fastens it. Had she also been wearing socks, he would also attach it for her, but he leaves the clip to hang loose.

“And…” Leaning back down to his other calf, Shu undoes his other garter before holding it over Kanata’s lap, to Natsume. “You too.”

He expects for the redhead to accept his gift after her mild surprise, but Kanata happily plucks it from his hand and mirrors his actions on Natsume’s leg, intuitively clipping one of her socks in place.

“This makes Nacchan and Kanata ‘matching’~”

“N-Nacchan?”

“Do you not ‘like’ it?”

Natsume blinks, then looks down at her lap and smiles. “Hm, I don’t Mind. I like It, and I like the Garter.”

“Now you both have more to remember this day by.”

“My first thought would’ve been more memorable Though.” Natsume smile morphs into more of a smirk. “For a Second, it seemed like Shu was going to give Kanata his Undies~”

“Wh- Wh-!? Perish the thought,” Shu nearly forgets not to yell, “that I would strip such a scandalous piece of clothing in public!” He flushes as he turns away.

Kanata giggles softly.

Taking a breath, Shu slowly turns his head back to face in front of him, but the gaze of two adults catches his eye at the last moment. He peeks back in the same direction, confirming if they met eyes by mere chance or not.

The black-haired man, with his matching face-mask, maintains such a staunch side glance at him as he whispers into the ear of his companion, that Shu has to look away again.

Ducking in on himself, his eyes trail to the floor. Really, now. His hand tugs at the side of his dress, adjusting the fabric. If you’re going to gossip… then do so discreetly!

“…Shu? You okay There?”

He whispers back, “Yes. I think I’m being stared at is all.”

Natsume makes no effort to be sly when she checks for herself. “Ugh… What a bunch of Creeps.” She leans forward in her seat, dragging her eyelid down with a finger, and sticks her tongue out at them with a small “Bleh!”

His cheeks warm. “H-Hey.”

Kanata glances at Natsume, to the lechers, then repeats the motion herself.

“Geh!” Shu worriedly looks back.

The black-haired man lowers the hand he had cupped over his friend’s ear, and they both grow bewildered, looking at each other unsure.

Before they get another chance to look back at him, a pair of middle school-aged girls carefully walk through the momentum of the bus, reaching to grab hold of the hanging handles nearby.

“Whoops, my bad,” one of them says, bumping into the other when the bus slows to a stop. “Why’d you get up all of the sudden?”

“The sun was seriously frying my hair on that side.”

“Ah… See~ That’s why you should go blonde. You’d match your oshi too!”

“No, thanks. Your school may be lax, but mine would kill me for not being au naturale.”

The dark-haired girl adjusts the bag slung on her shoulder—crowded with pins of a boy’s headshot, with various sizes of green and orange stars filling the empty spaces. She takes extra care not to accidentally whack Shu, now that she’s standing next to him.

And when Shu happens to meet the girl’s gaze, after being distracted by the decorations, she gives him a soft smile before turning back to her friend to softly resume their chit-chatting.

Shu sighs, turning to the other two girls. “We’ve been saved, but that taunt of yours could have led to something concerning.”

Natsume’s expression turns a bit sheepish, with Kanata’s following.

“But I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you two.”

The girls relax with more smiles, and the rest of their trip goes on with no other incident. They settle back into a comfortable silence, watching the city landscape pass by the windows across from them, until it’s time to get off at their stop and walk towards the train station.

Before completely exiting, Shu makes sure to flash a thankful look and small nod of his head to one of the middle school girls.

 

 

They follow a few other footsteps out, with some following them out in turn. A few passengers scurry as if they’ve almost slept through their stop, or decided to get off at the last minute. The pitter patter disperses either together with the three of them, or diverges off, making their way off to places nearby.

Now that they’ve made it…

“You know how to get back, right?”

“My house actually doesn’t seem too far away from that Yumenosaki School—judging by that bulletin thingie on ES. After taking the line There, I can find my way back using it as a Landmark.”

“And you?”

“Um.” Kanata twiddles her thumbs. “Kanata knows it’s underwater.”

“…Under what? ”

“Water.”

“You Mean… like a Waterfall?”

“Sort of?”

Shu stares, as does Natsume.

While Shu feels more assured with Natsume’s sense of direction, after Kanata had temporarily gotten separated from them back at ES, he feels a little uneasy thinking about them splitting off right now. And if it meant a later goodbye, then well…

“I could help see you off to your destination to be sure.”

“You can count me in Too. Let's get you home First, Kanata.”

“Really?” Her eyes sparkle radiantly. “Hehe, okay~” But then her brows slant upward. “Oh, then what about Shu? If you ‘escort’ Kanata and then Nacchan…”

“I’d like to think I’m comfortable enough traveling around Tokyo.” Shu shrugs. “Like Natsume, I have reliable landmarks as well. But for you, we might be looking at ocean-marks.”

“I’m not sure we earned enough for a Submarine…”

“Oh, but Kanata also knows it’s not too far from a beach!”

“Hm? Then,” Shu looks around before spotting what he needs to reference, “I’ll try to see if I can help narrow it down with that map over there.”

“I’ll grab a drink for Us.” Natsume points at a vending machine. “Any Requests?”

“To save a little, I’m fine sharing with either of you.” Shu starts stepping toward the map.

“Gotcha. C’mon, wanna see what they Have, Kanata?”

Shu squints. The pieces of information Kanata provided is pretty broad. But judging from the area, and how realistic it would be for a child to either walk or find the appropriate public transportation… It sort of helps. Sort of.

“Do you need something from Us?” Natsume yelps.

Snapping his head to the direction of her voice, the same black-haired man from earlier looms over the two girls.

Badump.

There’s no time to think.

The man might be scary-looking, and Shu may seem like nothing more than another helpless little girl to him, but what he needs to do is to appear as a pillar of strength to shield the others.

“Wh-What do you think you’re doing!?” Running to them, Shu slips in between the man and Natsume, raising his arms out to his sides and glaring at the devilish man.

Like Ryuu-kun… Shu gulps. His arms start trembling as he extends them even further. Just like Ryuu-kun! He needs to appear strong for the other girls behind him, but he can’t make his arms stop their tell of cowardice.

Whatever display of ferocity he manages to make is enough for the man to be surprised though. He leans back, wide-eyed, staring at him. And then when Shu thinks he might even apologize, he laughs.

His bangs cover his eyes as he tilts his head back, turning his head almost entirely black because of his face-mask. He cackles away while he clutches his stomach, “Wahahaha!”

Badump, badump. The girls cower behind him as Shu slightly shrinks. The glint of demonic red that flashes, showing between each movement of the man’s bangs, strikes an innate fear into Shu’s chest. He starts breathing shallowly, glancing for a nearby exit. Those bullies never looked this sinister laughing, Kiryu!

But then the man takes an inhale of breath, eyes looking pervertedly delirious as he turns to look to his side. “Wataru! Wataru, I can’t! They’re adorable!”

“Oya?” Step, step, step… “So it really is them?”

Laughing fit apparently over, the black-haired man grows more serious in tone after an exhale. “Yeah… Not sure how they got like this, but it definitely looks like them.”

Backing off slightly, the black-haired man makes room for the other Wataru guy to kneel in front of them.

Shu guides the others to step back when he does, keeping his arms up all the while. Badump, his chest reacts in anxiety as well. This man… Something is unpleasant about this man as well—like he would weasel his way into his heart, and then betray him in an act of so-called love.

After looking to his satisfaction, the man finally speaks. “You three are trying to get home, are you not? Mind if these two odd men accompany you there? We could even take a few fun detours! What do you say?”

“Oi, that makes it sound like we’re kidnapping them.”

“Like that laugh of yours didn’t already put them at unease~”

Shu narrows his eyes. “We’re not interested. We can get home by ourselves, thank you.”

Wataru pouts like a rejected puppy, and the sound of footsteps approaches the men from behind.

“Excuse me, is there a problem?”

Wataru stands back up as the black-haired man turns to address them. “Oh, Officer, good day. We were just disagreeing on where to go next.”

“…And what’s your relationship to the girls?”

The two men look at each other before turning to the security guard.

“Siblings.”

The guard raises a brow, then kneels and asks Shu, “Little Miss, you know these guys?”

Shu doesn’t need to think before he rests his eyes and scoffs. “Unfortunately, yes. These two drive me up a wall sometimes… I’m terribly sorry about them.”

He snaps his eyes back open. Wait- Huh?

“Oh? Well. Okay, then.” The guard gets up from their knee and faces the men again. “Take care of your family now. Got it?”

“Aye.” Wataru fully bows in respect while the other simply bows his head in thanks.

“Shu,” Natsume whispers behind him, “what was That!? You actually know Them?”

“I-I don’t know! My mouth moved on its own!”

Once the security guard returns to their post, the men adopt a relaxed stance, leaning their weight on opposite legs.

“We’re worried about you three,” the black-haired man says. “Even though it’s still daylight, you don’t know who’s lurking out there on the prowl. And Kanata’s directions home are a bit broad, if you don’t know what you’re looking for. You think so too, right? Shu~?”

Shu blinks. “If you knew our names, lead with that first!” His arms gradually lower. “So… we are acquainted?”

“Fufu.” Wataru hides his grin behind his hand. “Very.”

There’s a tug of his sleeve that makes Shu peek behind him.

“Shu… They might be those kinda weirdos who grab info off the internet and play Pretend!” Natsume warns. “Because of Mommy’s Fame, I’ve gotten a few like them Before… If we already knew each Other, there’s a chance your names are floating out there Somewhere.”

“Hm…” Shu looks back at the men, still as they are, but now having their hands comfortably stuffed in their pockets.

Kanata peeks to the left of Natsume, and by extension, Shu. “Mister knows where Kanata lives?”

“We know where all of you live~!” Wataru sings.

Yeah, that’s not suspicious at all.

“One moment,” Shu says, then scoots the girls off with him into a huddle. “We’re not going with them are we?” He glances back at the men.

“They’re really Dubious.”

“But… If they wanted to ‘spirit away’ Kanata and everyone… Don’t you think they would have already ‘done’ it?”

Shu and Natsume look at each other, then back at the men once more.

Mister Black Hair takes his hand out, waving with a smile in his eyes.

“And Shu’s having a hard time finding where Kanata lives, right?”

He exhales slowly through his nose. “That’s true, but…”

They fall into a silence before it’s broken again.

“If they’re our only lead for Now… As long as we’re in Public, Maybe,” Natsume says, though with a slight furrow of her eyebrows.

After a few more seconds, Shu yields, stepping toward the men again.

“Fine, if you know where Kanata lives, we’d appreciate you taking us there.”

“Amazing!”

Natsume crosses her arms. “But the second you guys try and drag us into an Alleyway, say goodbye to your family Jewels.”

Mister Black Hair chuckles, “We’ll walk in front, and you three can follow. How’s that sound?”

“Kanata and everyone isn’t going on the ‘train’?”

“Our stop was supposed to be the next one,” Wataru says, taking an umbrella out from who-knows-where. “I was hoping to feel the wind through my luscious locks, but I guess we’ll be renting a car now.”

The umbrella folds open, and the other man cozies up beside Wataru. “Haha, I’ll take you out on a motorcycle another day, don’t worry.” The two of them start walking towards an exit, with the man gesturing. “Come now, let’s go.”

After the girls and Shu confer in one another by sharing one last look, they follow after them—with a bit of distance.

Instead of waiting for another bus, the men lead them past the stop in long strides. It’s a pace not hard to keep up with, not when they check behind them and slow their pace occasionally, so that they’re not too far back. But even so, Shu and Natsume have to come to a complete standstill when Kanata starts dragging her feet.

“Kanata’s sorry,” she sighs. “They don’t know why this keeps happening. It feels like they should be able to walk, but sometimes it feels ‘strenuous’…”

Backtracking, Wataru’s voice gets louder. “Hmm. Perhaps it’s psychosomatic in nature?”

“Saito Soma-tic?” Kanata asks.

“That would probably mean to be more twin-like,” Mister Black Hair laughs. “He’s suggesting it might be caused by your mind instead of solely your body.” He takes a step partially out of shade, offering his arms. “If you’d like, I could carry you until we get there?”

“I think we’ve got that cov-” Shu cuts himself off when Kanata places a hand on his arm, coaxing him to relax.

She gently shakes her head. “It’s okay. Shu and Nacchan must be tired from earlier, right?”

The protest dies in Shu’s throat as he watches her get picked up by the man and held at the side.

“Mister… you feel warm.” Kanata blushes.

“Kukuku~ I may have the appearance of a cold, calculating vampire, but I assure you my heart is similarly warm.”

“Now, Kanata—going forward—whenever it does hurt, please do remind us! We have no qualms carrying you when the pain presents itself,” Wataru says, then quickly corrects, “and even when it doesn’t~”

After Wataru tilts the umbrella so that more shade lands on Kanata and the mister, they resume walking.

“Somehow… this feels familiar Too,” Natsume sighs beside Shu.

It seems more meaningful than what he can understand in the moment, but when he looks at her, she has an expression of almost peaceful acceptance about her, before she starts walking again.

“C’mon, let’s not be Forgotten.”

 

 

Eventually, Kanata returns to the earth when they walk inside of the building, and Wataru makes the umbrella disappear into some sort of pocket dimension.

“Welcome! I’ll be right with you!”

“I’ll go wait at the counter and handle the documents, and then you can leave the driving to me~”

“Appreciate it.” Mister Black Hair tucks his face mask down to his chin, and then he leans closer to Wataru’s face. “Thank you.”

Peck.

The girls make small exhales of wonder to the sides of Shu, as he feels his face warm. Th-These men. They just made contact with each other’s lips. The thing that lovers do.

“You two k-kissed.” Shu raises a shaky finger. And so casually!

“Hm?” The man looks at him. “Ah.” He smiles, and he seems dorkier when he sneaks another glance at Wataru, conversing with one of the workers at the front desk. “We’re together after all.”

Still full of wonder, Kanata asks, “Do you usually ‘kiss’ to say thank you?”

“Often, yes,” the man chuckles.

“Oh… Then, for carrying Kanata, can they ‘thank’ you as well, Mister?”

Shu’s eyes bulge.

The edges of the man’s cheeks tinge pink, seemingly touched by her thoughtfulness, but then his expression grows perturbed while he strokes his chin. “As you are now though, with me, it might be a little…”

Kanata bats her eyelashes.

The man’s expression softens again. “Well.” Dropping down to be eye-level with her, he tilts his cheek towards her and taps on it twice. “Maybe here~”

Reaching a hand out, Shu sputters, “K-Kanata-”

Peck.

She turns around.

Peck.

Shu blinks.

Peck.

“Wh- Kiss, you, I, huh!?!” Shu hovers a hand over his mouth.

“To ‘thank’ you two for being so nice to Kanata?”

Regaining his mind, Shu sternly says, “Do not make a habit of thanking everyone with such a gesture! Kissing on the lips should be reserved for the person you like!”

“But…” Kanata rubs her yukata sleeves. “Kanata does like the two of you.”

Badump. “We- We may be thinking of different degrees of ‘like,’ here.”

Wataru returns with his hands out in front of him, locked in a stretch. “Mm… We should be all set to go now.”

“Those were a few more signatures than I thought you needed.” Standing back up, Mister Black Hair raises a brow.

“Some of them were autographs,” Wataru laughs. After he clicks the unlock button of the car key, there’s a muffled duo of beeps outside. “Now, let us board our mechanical carriage!”

As Mister Black Hair walks next to Wataru, his question trails off in volume when he smirks, leaning closer to Wataru’s face again. “Say, does it count if Kanata…”

The girl herself more-readily follows after the men into the parking lot, but Shu loiters to help escort a shell-shocked, red tomato. He says nothing, but he gently squeezes Nastume’s hand in solidarity, getting her to take a few robotic steps before walking normally.

Thud-thud, thud. Once Kanata settles into her seat on the right, and Natsume buckles up in the middle, Shu feels a small swell of anxiety return. He scans the locking mechanism of the door—it might take a few seconds, but it wouldn't be hard to manually force it back open. Then as a backup, he might be able to roll down the window in time for… something.

While Wataru adjusts the brightness settings on the GPS, Mister Black Hair turns back, holding a phone out. “Here.”

Shu looks from his hand to his face. “Huh?”

“It’s my phone. In case you need to call for help~”

Shu stares at him, raising a brow. He slowly takes it off of his hands and then leans back into his seat. When he tilts the phone toward him, the screen lights up with the date, time, and a background picture of the man with three other guys who are blonde, silver-haired, and purple-haired.

“Is it visible enough?” Wataru asks.

Looking back up, Shu notices the man’s finger hovering on the screen mounted on the center console.

Natsume, who has the clearest view, replies after a squint, “It’s almost too Bright.”

“Haha, let me fix that then.”

So Wataru does, and before he pulls out of the lot and into the main streets, Rei unlocks all of their doors with a button. And Shu only catches a glimpse of Rei’s amused eyes in the rear view mirror, until he’s back to ogling the contour of Wataru’s forearms on the wheel.

“Hey,” Natsume says softly. “Can I see That?”

“Eh? Sure.”

He transfers the phone over to Natsume, who begins staring at the background image intensely.

“Do you know any of them?”

There’s something that lights up in her eyes, and the anticipation within Shu grows when she parts her mouth. “I…”

The fabric of Kanata’s veil drapes down delicately, when she turns more of her head in curiosity too.

“I Don’t.”

The phone dims to black and the feeling inside of Shu fizzles out.

“I feel like I might’ve seen them altogether on TV or Something, but what I was hoping for was that niisan’s name to at least pop up in my Head. That way we can know if they’re Lying.”

“Ah… that’s right. Back at the station, he called the other one ‘Wataru,’ but I’m not sure what his own name is.”

“Oh. Kanata thinks it’s… R-Rei?” she utters before she winces in pain. “Ugh!”

At that, the man turns to look behind him. He blinks in surprise before his eyebrows furrow in worry. “Are you okay?”

“Um…” She blinks a few times before looking at the man. “Kanata thinks so.”

“If there’s anything bothering you, please tell us, okay?”

“Mm.” Kanata nods, watching the man slowly turn back in his seat.

Natsume whispers, “It looked Like… that started to get his attention before you sounded Hurt. How did you know his Name?”

“Kanata isn’t sure…” She rubs her head. “Maybe it was a godly, um, pre… premo-mission?”

“Premonition?” Shu suggests.

“Mhm.”

“That’s not Good…” Natsume draws the attention of the others with her tone. “During her fortune telling Sessions, Mommy says that her ‘premonitions’ are usually signs of something Bad.”

“But-” Kanata looks down, placing her hand on her chest. “It’s weird. Kanata was scared at first but… they feel this ‘warm’ feeling in their chest when they look at those men now. Just like they did when they first saw you two.”

Natsume looks from Kanata, then down to her lap in thought as well. “…To be Honest, I felt something similar just now when that ‘Rei’ niisan sounded so Concerned. I guess they might not always be Bad.”

Strange. Them as well? Back at the station, though they initially made Shu anxious too, he suddenly spoke about them with such exasperation, like he’d grown long accustomed to their antics and maybe even secretly enjoyed them. Even within his caution, he’s been proved not to need it so far either. But he doesn’t remember ever…

Shu squeezes his eyes with a pinch of pain at his temples, then turns his attention to the front of the car.

They’re quietly chatting away…

Honestly, after the measures they’ve taken to make them feel at ease, it might not be necessary to be vigilant, but maybe that’s what they want. “Well, for now, we should probably stay on guard until we’re home.”

And the two girls nod their heads in acknowledgement.

 

 

They’re nowhere near a beach. The GPS didn’t show that they were taking them anywhere suspicious, but it’s still not any of their intended destinations. Not unless one of them actually lived in another parking lot.

Thud. “I hope you don’t mind the detour, the both of us haven’t eaten yet,” Rei says.

After Kanata finishes scooting out, Shu closes the door with another thud, and then he inwardly sighs. If the men still intend to see their offer through, he doesn’t want to deprive them of their needs. “We’ve only had a snack ourselves.”

“This restaurant sounds like it has a tasty menu Too, so you guys are forgiven for Now.”

“Mhm. Kanata just can’t have any-”

“Meat, right?”

Kanata blinks at Rei, slowly nodding.

“Sorry for the delay~” Thud. Click, clack.

Skirting around the hood of the car is a pair of ivory colored high-heels and a matching sundress to boot.

“Since when did you have a change of clothes?” Shu raises a brow. And to get into them so fast.

“Because my casual wear wasn’t much of a disguise, I thought I’d dress more for the occasion!” Wataru gathers the rest of his hair to bunch on his shoulder, and—as if his hair itself was helping—he quickly weaves a large braid. “This is simple for a ‘master’ magician~”

Another one, huh.

“You look lovely.” There’s that dorky smile of Rei’s again, when he holds an arm out for Wataru.

Jingle, jingle. Once inside, the restaurant interior doesn’t look all that fancy. It’s actually rather quaint and welcoming with all the natural wood and accompanying decor. Shu finds himself taking a seat between Rei and Wataru at a circular table, scooping the fabric of his dress underneath his legs so that it isn’t bunched up.

A waitress is quick to supply menus, or at least she attempts to supply them. But before she gets to put them down onto the table, Rei places his and Wataru’s orders with, “the usual,” then proceeds to list a few smaller side dishes and rice enough for all of them.

“Ah, you two! This time you’re with three cute kiddos, I see~” The lady quickly catches up, jotting down on her server notepad. “Drinks?”

“Just water. Oh, and one glass of grape juice.”

“Need the pitcher still?”

Rei glances at Kanata. “Aha, probably, yes.”

The waitress returns not too long afterwards with their said drinks—in an impressive display of strength and balance.

“The grape juice?”

Wataru holds out a hand. “I’ll take that for you.”

Then when the waitress leaves to do her other duties, Wataru proceeds to place the cup in front of Shu, who cocks his head.

He picks up the glass, narrowing his eyes to the right of him, where Wataru snickers, then to his left, where Rei tries to hide his smile behind the hand he’s resting his face on.

“If I didn’t have faith in the staff here, I would have thought you told her to add poison.” Shu swirls the juice in his cup. “Seems like you find it humorous to see me with this.”

Once he shifts part of his hand, Rei explains, “It’s just that, pff, even if you were in France right now, you’d still be too young for wine.”

“I don’t recall ever drinking, nor going to France. Though I do admire some artists of French nationality.” Shu takes a sip, then places the cup back down. “It would be a nice opportunity if I could study abroad there.”

“Shu does seem like the smart Type. He could probably make It, and I bet he could get something out of the brainwashing they call School.”

“Fufu. Certain schools such as Yumenosaki strive to be an environment that embraces individual strengths though. Ah, but then again~ My emperor has been facing recent criticisms of being too cookie-cutter—with the production of school idols into an ES agency and all. Not to mention, my first-year self was disappointed with the idol course initially, and the theater course too, while later auditing it. The mandatory gen-ed did seem dull for me to dub it ‘brainwashing’ at times too.”

“You two are idols,” Shu states, more than asks. That would certainly explain his flashiness.

“Then those guys and that Mutt on your Phone…”

“Are my fellow unit members.”

“Why weren’t you two misters doing a ‘live’ on ES with everyone else?”

“It was planned time off for us.” Rei shrugs. “We wanted to have our dates.”

Plural?

“I feel like that’s more fitting for the blonde that looks like a Playboy.”

“I don’t know if the producer—the one who’s helped us lots—would call it that necessarily, but Kaoru is also with her today. I do hope he’s managing well.”

Natsume hums.

“On the topic of ‘school’ though… That’s a lot ‘different’ from Kanata’s teachings.” She takes a moment to thank Rei, for topping up her already-halfway done water. “Kanata learned a lot of specialized rituals, and less about what was taught to ‘the masses.’ Creating a ‘baseline’ of general knowledge, as well as practicing an ‘expertise,’ sounds nice.”

“Interesting. So your family homeschools you in a sense?” Shu asks.

“Mhm. Although it’s unlikely, Kanata’s remaining ‘caregivers’ are also in talks about possible public enrollment.”

“If that’s the case, self-studying is also an option to achieve that broad knowledge. When I was younger, for example, I read many, many books,” Rei says. “And when I’d grow interested in a particular topic, I could also simply seek out a more in-depth one for the expertise.”

“Oh, then Kanata guesses they’ve already been ‘self-studying’ with magazines.”

Their food starts coming in a stagger. First is Rei’s tomato soup and grilled cheese, then Wataru’s Hamburg steak, the side dishes, then the small bowls of rice. At one point the amount of plates and glasses make it a precarious puzzle, but miraculously, they all fit with a bit of room to spare.

Following the lull in their conversation is a series of chopsticks clacking together, or clinks of metal upon bowl and plate. Hunger makes itself known, manifesting with the new aromas steaming in front of them. Shu’s own appetite surprises himself, as he chews, that he almost doesn’t notice the lack of noise from Kanata and Natsume’s plates.

“It looks good doesn’t it?” Rei then mumbles, “I forget the specifics sometimes but…” His voice grows clearer again. “There shouldn’t be dairy either. Would you like a taste?”

“Um, hehe. Maybe a little.”

Shu looks to the left of their table.

“Ah…” Rei lifts his spoon.

Kanata giggly opens her mouth. “Ah~ Mm!” She chomps down on the utensil, and Rei tries to gently retrieve it from her staunch bite.

Shu looks to his right, upon catching a flash of concerning things in the corner of his eye.

The clown is balancing his plate on top of his fork with a finger. Performing a small extension of his digit, he makes the food fly up into the air for a few seconds, and then catches the plate with his entire palm. The fork somehow lands perfectly in the center, having stabbed a cut piece of steak that, also, somehow became so in the air.

And when the man delivers the bite to the girl, Natsume doesn’t show her receptiveness as enthusiastically, instead opening her mouth normally—but the shy blush on her face gives away her true feelings.

Shu deadpans, parting open his own mouth. On guard, his foot. While earlier could’ve just been falling into polite small talk, right now the both of them look way too pleased to be fed by these men.

Suddenly, in unison, is a sing-song melody: “And of course we didn’t forget about you~”

Blinking, Shu goes cross eyed at the bites of food being offered to him. Forgetting his mouth has been opened, he swallows on instinct, coughing, before admonishing them, “I can feed myself!”

There’s a giggle heard from a table not too faraway, and Shu peeks over to it before looking back at the men.

“We’re getting looks!”

“Even if we’re disguised idols, I suppose we do make quite a cute family—one cute enough to gossip over,” Wataru muses, offering Natsume a napkin to grab.

“And I wouldn’t mind if you fed me as payback, Shu~”

While Rei dabs the corner of Kanata’s lips with another napkin, Shu sighs. “That doesn’t sound like something embarrassing at all for you.”

They fall back into another comfortable lull not long after, finishing off their remaining food and placing their utensils back down. After a satisfied exhale, Wataru excuses himself for a quick trip to the restroom with Kanata and Natsume following; Shu doesn’t think much of it until a staff member exits the door and nods in greeting to Wataru, then does a double take with the girls slipping into the room.

How old are they…?

“If you need to go, might be good to do it now,” Rei suggests, getting up to pay for their meal.

Shu pushes his chair in. “I’m fine for now, and I’d rather avoid public restrooms when I can.”

After letting an older gentleman cut back in front of their short line, to retrieve his nearly-forgotten change, they move forwards. Rei gets out his wallet, and Shu takes a moment to furrow his eyebrows at himself, sidestepping to the right when he realizes how close he is to Rei.

“Hello~ Was everything to your liking?” the cashier asks.

“Yes, it was great,” Rei says. “…I don’t think I’ve seen you before?”

“Oh, I just started last week! Hehe.”

With a series of inputs, their total is displayed, and Rei flashes his card as a reply to the relevant question, inserting it into the chip reader.

While the payment is being processed, the cashier pipes up again. “By the way, I just wanted to say your daughter has such a cute dress on.”

The girl gives Shu a small wave as Shu replies. “Ah- Thank you.”

“It’s hand-made, actually.” Shu turns his attention to Rei, who looks down at him with the same amount of tenderness as with Wataru. “I find all of their needlework and designs wonderful. They once even made an ensemble of outfits for me and my friends, and I still cherish my set to this day.”

To this day…

Shu blushes.

“Aww, what talent! You have a bright future ahead of you then, Lil’ Miss.”

Jingle, jingle. Once they’re finished paying, Rei holds the restaurant door open for him, unnecessarily, watching him walk through with a smile.

Embarrassing. His face is warm and his heart is still fluttering, even with the fresh air. To elicit such an involuntary reaction from him… Shu looks away from that face of his, walking to their car. First that blurb at the station, and now with the outfits… What is the likelihood of Shu mistaking Rei for someone else he should know twice?

The door sounds off again a few moments after, with Wataru repeating what Rei did for Kanata and Natsume.

“—hands would be Pruney.”

“Wataru and Nacchan said Kanata couldn’t ‘puka puka’ in the sink,” she sighs, “so they wanted to ‘compensate’ for that.”

“Fufu. I normally would entertain the idea, but Rei would scold me for bothering the staff here.” Wataru lifts and clicks his key again, causing their car to briefly flash its headlights and make beeps in response.

Ah, right. Instead of opening the door for the girls, he lingers outside as he waits for them to get a little closer.

“Hey, you two…”

“Yeah?” “Mm?”

“I feel it rude to ask a lady her age, but…” Thud-thud. “I think you should soon grow out of that habit—of following your guardian into the men’s restroom, I mean.”

Natsume stares at him, and Kanata cocks her head.

“You know I’m actually a Boy, Right?”

“...Huh?”

Taking the initiative and opening the door to climb onto the middle seat, once Kanata goes first, Natsume adds, “Kanata Too.”

After a few seconds of more lingering, Shu climbs inside as well, replaying their earlier conversation at ES. He keeps his gaze fixed on the back of Rei’s headrest, shutting the door almost as a vague afterthought. So that’s what Natsume meant…

“Sorry to burst your Bubble,” Natsume says, nonchalantly.

“No… I just feel a little foolish, for being under a different impression for so long.”

Given his current track record now, that ghost-like girl back in the Kansai region was probably a boy too.

“To be Fair, that is the Point, and it’s reassuring to Hear. It’d be troublesome for Mommy and me if the cold, evil spirits didn’t think I was a Girl. So, keep up the illusion and refer to me as Such.”

“Ah,” Shu grunts in acknowledgment. Then, looking past her, he sheepishly asks, “Do you require me to maintain a similar illusion for you, Kanata?”

“Hm? Um… ”

She looks upward in thought while Wataru carefully pulls them out of their tight parking.

“Kanata is a boy, and Mother did say that gods aren’t necessarily ‘genderless,’ so… maybe Kanata will embrace his boyish self.” He smiles, looking back at him. “But if it’s too much ‘trouble,’ Mother’s followers have often referred to Kanata in many ways. It’s not a big ‘deal’ for him.”

“No, if you wish, then I’ll perceive you as such.”

“Hehe, wish…” He seems a bit wistful, but then smiles wider. “Thank you~”

“Oh. Actually, since we’re on the Topic, do you mind if I call you Shu-niisan?”

“Eh? With an honorific?”

“Yeah, it’s been on my mind this whole Time. Whenever I say your Name, for some reason it feels kinda Naked,” Natsume admits. “I know we’re not dressed like this for quite the same Reason, But…”

“I suppose I’m a bit like Kanata in that regard. While I’m like this, I don’t mind either way. That’s less embarrassing than calling me Onii-chan by itself or Darling.”

Natsume chuckles. “Then, Shu-niisan it is.”

Once the new nickname settles upon his ears, Shu can feel the difference almost immediately. It feels comforting and almost familiar, which is strange, considering he’s the youngest child of his family. And even though he’s older than Kiryu by a few months, he’d say Kiryu feels more like the older brother out of the two of them.

Sniff.

He peeks back up to the seat in front, watching Rei hide his face with a hand.

Raising his eyebrow, Shu asks, “Rei, are you okay?”

“I’m good.” The man reveals his expression to be one of tearful nostalgia. “You guys just reminded me of when Ritsu would earnestly call me Onii-chan… He was so cute, just like you three.”

“Ah, yes, I empathize there!” Wataru laughs, looking at Rei. Then, leaning and craning his neck further back, he says, “I was ecstatic when I was finally called Wataru-niisan by-”

“Eyes on the road!” “—Road!!”

 

 

The siren of an ambulance blares as it gets closer to them, hurrying past the crossing they’re standing in wait for. They all look to the way it came from, waiting to see if another will follow, but none do.

When the sound piercing the air shifts from high-pitched to low-pitched, Natsume faces back forward and murmurs, “Hope they’re Okay.”

“That’s not for where we’re going now is it?” Shu asks.

He feels bad for interrupting their initial date plan, but if they have to tag along until they get home… Please pick a more tranquil location!

“Don’t worry, the amusement park is reputed to be quite safe,” Rei reassures. And once the pedestrian light turns green, he grabs a hold of Shu’s hand, letting the others follow close behind them. “I know you hate crowds, but it shouldn’t be that busy today.”

“For your sake, I sure hope not. But… it’s not as if I’m able to escape with the clutches you have on me.” Shu makes a pointed glance at the size of Rei’s hand dwarfing his own.

“I’m only cherishing the time I have left to squeeze them!” Rei pouts.

“Haha, I thought I was the one with the hand fetish here, Rei~”

The sound of Kanata’s voice comes from somewhere closer to Wataru’s height. “You have a fetish?”

“Wataru.” Rei keeps a steady forward momentum.

“Yes, Kanata. I have a hand-made protective amulet, made out of wood by someone dear.”

That definition of the word is most certainly not what he meant.

“It was wood specifically leftover from a certain coffin-building project~”

“Coffin…”

Natsume mutters the word so curiously that Shu takes a peek behind him.

While carried by Wataru’s side, Kanata makes a small noise of awe, and Natsume looks thoughtful as she holds Wataru’s free hand. The man himself looks happy as he watches Natsume’s face slightly light up in recognition.

“Oh.” Rei abruptly stops walking.

It’s long.

The line of people, waiting for admission into the park, stretches far longer than what “not too busy” should encompass.

Shu looks up at Rei, who then gives him a light chuckle. At least he’s under shade for now, so he spares Rei a quip. They line up without fanfare, becoming unintentional eavesdroppers to the couple in front of them.

“I should’ve expected it to be like this, if you came with me for the same reason.”

“I did not! I wuuub you. That’s why I’m here with you,” one of the date-goers in front of them claims, then says in a quick manner, “but you’re right that my kami-oshi’s unit being rumored to appear is a total scor- I mean, an extra bonus.”

Natsume leans closer to Shu and whispers into his ear, “I’m guessing more undercover Idols.”

“Probably,” Shu sighs. The two accompanying them already are more than enough in his opinion.

Eventually the line chugs along to where they’re permitted to enter, and Kanata spots something that catches his eye within the first few steps inside. He cups his hand over Wataru’s ear and pleads with his eyes, earning him a chuckle.

“We’ll be right back~ Why don’t you all figure out where we should go first?”

“Sure.” Rei waves, then he points over to a large sign. “Let’s have a look.”

A family of five finishes their rock-paper-scissors tournament by the time they reach it, allowing them to monopolize the space next. Shu, though, steps back, leaving Natsume and Rei to scout out attractions in his stead. Wherever they go, he’d tolerate anyways.

Rei looks back at him. “What’s wrong? You don’t want to look at the map?”

“No.” Shu squints warily. “Every time that I have today, something bad occurs immediately afterwards.”

“I don’t recall you being so superstitious. Look, they have a few gift shops scattered around. Maybe inspiration might strike you?”

“Hmph. Gain inspiration from such mass-produced, soulless products? And you claim to know me?” Shu crosses his arms and turns his head away.

“They have a doll-themed area.”

Bonk.

“Ow!” Shu hunches forward and squints his eyes closed, slapping his hands onto the back of his head.

“Huh?” Fwip. “Oh, I’m-”

Whack!

“Ouch!” Natsume yelps.

“Ah-” the man backs off carefully, before noticing Rei. “…Sakuma?”

“Hasumi…?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Trying to enjoy a day off,” Rei says. “So… I see our leader of Akatsuki decided to ditch those live rotations to have fun~”

Hasumi glares. “The same can be said for y- Wait, that's not it! Unlike you, Akatsuki had prior work obligations to promote the ryokan nearby. We’re going to be performing live here soon instead.”

“Hm, is that so? Where are the others then?”

“They’re…” Hasumi adjusts his glasses. “They’re currently undertaking the task of sampling something.”

“Ahem!” Natsume stands with a hand on her forehead.

There’s a lingering sting just below the crown of Shu’s own head, but it isn’t painful enough to warrant a nursing hand or two anymore.

Still, Natsume includes him in her reminder. “I believe you owe us Something?”

Hasumi looks at Natsume again and grows sheepish. He kneels down and says, sincere, “Ah, right. It was an accident, but I’m sorry for hitting you two with my umbrella. Are you okay?”

Natsume huffs, slowly drawing her hand away from her head. “…I Guess.”

Though the same unpleasant feeling from earlier returns for Shu, it’s not as intense as with that man. “We’ll be fine.”

“I’m glad.” Hasumi smiles at him, and then to Natsume.

Frowning, Natsume turns and rushes to Rei’s leg, wrapping her arms around him.

“Kukuku.” Rei strokes her hair. “Are you seeking shade from Hottie Hasumi’s bright smile?”

“Well, aren’t you close… I’ve been meaning to ask, but who are these children even?”

Rei hums, and if Shu didn’t know any better, the way his eyes become half-lidded alongside his grin would be a flirtation. “Would you believe me if I said they were mine?”

“...You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, daaarling~ ”

The four of them look in the direction of the voice, where a man walks away with his gaze on his phone, revealing a Wataru who enthusiastically waves in greeting while holding Kanata’s hand—the one that isn’t pressing a giant cup of ice water against his chest.

“You’re not using that acquaintance of yours to talk about those other women again, are you?”

“Hibiki… You’re here too.”

“Of course not, my beloved~ Hasumi was just asking about these children.”

“That’s almost the same thing as bragging about your past flames.” Wataru turns away, wiping a non-existent tear with a handkerchief.

“You mean to say that you two are currently babysitting, correct?”

“Babysitting?” Wataru gasps. “Of course not! All of us are here to have fun together. I love these children as if they were my very own, I’ll have you know! It’d be a different story if my darling, Rei-kyun, asked me to love their biological mothers as I do him. The very thought fills me with immense apathy… Oh, what an unthinkable kind of arrangement!”

“Hm. That’s interesting, coming from someone who’s written a ‘love letter’ to not only me, but to Sena and that wild card as well,” Hasumi refreshes. “Plus, with the other three of you, aren’t you all…?”

Wataru and Rei smile and blink innocently.

Hasumi blushes, clearing his throat. “No, nevermind, I shouldn’t speculate. Anyways… If you’re going to be here for a while, you’re free to come watch us perform later.”

“That sounds great,” Rei says, but then shoots a look down to his leg, where Natsume squeezes him closer and keeps her gaze to the ground. “But, ah, we’ll see. We have a lot of attractions to visit~”

“Then don’t let me keep you. Sorry again for the accident. And I hope our fans, who somehow heard about us being here, aren’t getting in the way of you park-goers too much.”

Natsume doesn’t bother looking back when Rei and Wataru lead them all away as they wave back at Hasumi. But after a few more seconds, she lets go of Rei’s hand, standing still. “Wait, I have something to tell Him.”

“Huh?” Step, step, step! Shu watches as she jogs back to the man.

Hasumi has his back turned to Natsume when she reaches him, but her footsteps must’ve startled him, because he nearly whacks her with his umbrella again when he turns around.

“Hey, Glasses.”

From another side of him, the man temporarily ignores another voice that calls out: “We’re back with the caught-on candy, Hasumi-dono!”

“I just wanted to give you a word of Advice.” Natsume’s face shifts from a neutral stare to something with an ominous amount of weight. “Watch out for soybeans.”

Hasumi grows bewildered.

And without elaborating, Natsume hurries back.

Step, step, step… “What did you say to him?” Shu raises a brow once she rejoins their party. “He looks traumatized.”

“Just shared a premonition I had for Him.” Natsume shrugs. After taking her place back besides Rei to hold hands with him again, they take the lead in walking with their little unit.

Glancing back, Shu catches Hasumi’s other friends returning with three sticks of cotton candy. The one with the ponytail offers one to hold, while the redhead… He plucks a bite-sized portion out, ready to hand-feed.

“Hm? Shu?” Slurp, slurp.

“Oh, no it’s nothing. That mister back there just looks like my Ryuu-kun.”

Kanata and he both shoot another glance back, but the features on their faces are harder to make out now that they’re at a greater distance away. Though from what Shu can make out, the older Kiryu look-alike and Ponytail seem to be cocking their heads at them.

“Whoa!” Shu snaps his head back forward, stabilizing himself before Wataru’s own hand can be of assistance.

“My, my. Watch your step, now~”

 

 

Honestly, he doesn’t expect to enjoy the ambience so much. There are crying children every so often, piercing the sound barrier like that ambulance, then couples that hold hands and lean on each other's shoulders, making Shu blush and look away, and there’s how aimless their walk seems, until it turns out they are heading towards points of interest after all.

Like the bumper car ride Rei and Wataru have them all participate in.

Shu steps closer to Rei’s side, and Natsume hugs Rei’s leg again, causing Wataru to hum in amusement. “Guess you’ll be riding with me then, Kanata~”

Or the roller coaster.

Natsume holds Kanata’s cup of ice for him, watching them ascend from afar. “Just you Wait…! My growth spurt will come and I’ll be taller than Rei- No, Wataru!”

Or the dolphin show they sit in on.

“Hehe~ Puka, puka…”

Rei shakes off the excess water from his umbrella before lifting it back up, but in doing so, he opens up the rest of them to get splashed by another trick.

It’s all so noisy, crowded, and meandering at times, and yet… It's comfortable with them.

But eventually, they make their way over to the doll-themed area, finding that it isn’t as big compared to the other areas they’ve visited. Shu appreciates them regardless, from the more cuddly-looking ones to the ones with human likeness in mind. And it’s an area with a shop, so they decide to take a peek at it before wrapping up their time in the park.

Shu stares at the two black voids nestled within the fur of a plushie. Whereas the doll statues freckled outside of the shop seemed more artistic in nature, these ones lined on a shelf just seem so… blasé. “As I suspected, this does not spark anything within me.”

“I Dunno, they’re kind of Cute.” Natsume bumps his shoulder when she leans to judge more thoroughly.

“Kanata hoped there were sea turtle ones for him to ‘browse’ though.”

“Yes, that is a shame…” Wataru places down a giraffe. “Oh, Rei! Wasn’t there that place not too far from here? Perhaps Shu and Kanata would be more pleased with the dolls there, and Natsume might enjoy testing her skills?”

“Skills?” Natsume raises a brow.

Rei hums, and he makes it a point to smile at Kanata and Shu. “You’re right. I’m sure there’ll be a few turtle-like dolls, and maybe the effort would make it more meaningful too—not merely a soulless product.”

The next thing they know, they return to their car, and Wataru reunites with his heels after an earlier change in footwear. Shu relaxes in his seat, watching the scenery go by through the window, and despite catching the glimpse of their route heading toward somewhere that’s still closer inland, he rests his eyes.

 

 

“Ooh…” Kanata looks around, expression almost as bright as the rows of the claw machines and similar machinery they walk past.

Further down the row they enter, they skirt around someone who drops down to their knees to retrieve their prize. Close by, a staff member then rings a small bell while their co-workers clap in congratulations.

Shu sighs. “This is worse! If you wanted to own a plushie, you could have bought one outright back at the park. Now you’re essentially having to gamble!”

“Isn’t that part of the fun though?” Rei asks.

“I Agree. If you happen to get it in a try or Two, you can save some Money.”

“The likelihood of that happening for all of your target prizes is-”

“Oh, there are the sea turtles!” Wataru points up ahead.

Shu takes a breath. Alright, he might be a little more irritated because he can’t ignore his problem anymore. So, he excuses himself, not wanting to hold it anymore, nor rain on Natsume’s parade.

Rei turns his head. “Need an escort?”

“I’ll be fine.” The four of those guys are too conspicuous for him not to find.

 

 

When Shu exits the bathroom and returns to their general area of the arcade, he spots the most conspicuous one in their circle, operating a machine for converting bills into change.

Knew it. They ran out, didn’t they?

He’s about to call out to Wataru and make his way over, but then a man slithers up behind Wataru in a way that distracts him. He presses his body against Wataru like he belongs there, slipping his hand around Wataru’s waist, leaning closer to his face to say something.

Something also wells inside of Shu and he doesn’t like it, just like when Rei was terrorizing Natsume and Kanata—but this time, he doesn’t think he’s a familiar face.

“I know this love hotel. Got all the cutesy dolls ‘n’ shit lining the walls and the bed. How about you and me get outta here?”

Wataru laughs, “My, you’re awfully forward…”

Stomping right behind them, Shu scowls at the man hitting on his beloved. “Hey!”

The man whips his head around before he lowers his gaze and finally spots him. “Huh? A kid?”

“Get your hands off my…” Shu blushes. “My mother!”

“Huh?!”

Wataru holds a hand up to his mouth. “Oh~”

“My mother and father love each other very much. Neither of them would commit adultery, much less commit adultery with the likes of you! So hands off, you lecherous creep!”

“Eugh…” The man hovers his hand in the air from the attack, glancing at the stares he’s getting from the cautious staff that prepare to intervene. “Fine!” He snaps his head to Wataru. “Who wants you anyways! You’re crustier than you look, old hag!”

Shu watches as the man leaves, stalking off to retrieve whatever ego he has left of him.

“Hmph!” He tilts his head upwards. “What a disgrace! Did his family not teach him any manners? Unbelievable.” His shoulders bunch up and he stiffens though, when a palm rests on his head and gently rubs his hair.

“Who knew I had such a noble and brave child.” Wataru giggles, and after he quickly takes his converted change, he holds his hand out. “Let’s go, my beloved.”

Relaxing his shoulders, Shu looks up at him.

Oh. That’s right. Just now, did he think he was his… beloved?

Shu takes Wataru’s hand, letting him lead them back to the group. The man hums merrily, like he hasn’t gone through an unpleasant solicitation just a minute prior. And though Shu feels a sense of fondness for him and the melody, there’s a prickling feeling of hurt again.

“…You would commit adultery though.”

“Hm?” Unlike his earlier front, it’s as if a layer of Wataru’s mask chips off, revealing a genuine expression of surprise. But he recovers, and he gives him a smile. “Ah, but would you fault me? That I would run off to enjoy the company of someone like your grandfather?”

Ignoring the sheer blasphemy of a comparison, Shu lets his mind revisit various moments he has shared with that old man of his. Though there’s a throb of pain, he carefully pushes through it, slightly squeezing Wataru’s hand in reflex. His grandfather looks a little wearier in some fragments of time, and normal in some others, but the feelings that are evoked remain the same. Despite how harsh he can be…

“I do respect my grandfather very much, so I suppose I can see why.” Shu sighs. “But it would still make you a traitorous bastard.”

Wataru laughs. “That, I concede to. Though I would embrace that role, in the same way I would continue to embrace you.”

Shu looks up at the almost selfish way he boasts about it—his smile competing with the dazzling lights of claw machines and skill games. He finds the prickly feeling within his chest making more space for fondness yet again. “Sounds typical of you.”

 

 

Rei and the others aren’t in the same spot Shu last saw when they make their way back, but they find them a couple rows over where Natsume jumps up and down, hugging a plushie.

“Fufu. We’re back~ I suppose my preemptive restock was unneeded.”

“You just missed Natsume’s incredible calculation of trajectory.”

“It went ‘boing’ on the edge!”

Natsume giggles, holding the plush up to Shu and Wataru. “He caught my eye, because he looks like both of mine.”

The faux black cat gives him the most brainless, thousand-yard stare he thinks he’s ever gotten in his life—and he feels like a hypocrite to think it might be a little cute.

“Lucifer doesn’t have the set of gold and blue eyes though, does he?”

“Phos Does, not Lucy.” Natsume snuggles the Lucifer look-alike, before looking up at Wataru with a hint of curiosity.

The man smiles at her while Shu musters up his voice. “Could I… hold it?”

“Hm? Oh, Sure.”

The fur is a better quality than he expects, soft on his hands, bearing a shiny sheen, and yet it just looks so… stupid. So endearingly stupid, that his mouth makes a weird wavy motion.

“You can have It, Shu-niisan.”

“Huh? After your efforts of getting it?”

“Yeeeah, you were right that it took more attempts than I would’ve Liked, But…” She grins. “I want you to have it Still. Think of it as another thank you for your Garter—you’ll have something to remember today By.”

“Oh… Well.” Shu blushes, smiling at the doll. “If you insist.”

“Hehe. Is Shu not going to ‘thank’ Nacchan?”

His face flares hotter. “I was going to.” But not in the way Kanata probably thought.

“Hm-hm~” Natsume brings her hands behind her back, slightly tilting forwards. “Then? Or does Shu not ‘like’ Me?”

Shu stammers.

“Haha, just Kidding~” Natsume walks off looking over her shoulder. “Say, Wataru… -niisan? I can drain your wallet for one last Machine, Right?”

“Ah~!” Wataru clutches his heart. “To hear the fateful moment once again, in a squeakier voice…!” He follows after her. “Of course~”

Rei chuckles. “Guess it was needed after all.”

 

 

“Ehehe~” “Haha!”

Shu sighs contentedly, staring at the winning popsicle stick in his hand. Even if all of them are almost back to where they started... Sitting under the gazebo of a playground not too far from ES, there is no malice, nor frustration in his heart toward their two “kidnappers.”

“You have no intention of bringing us to Kanata’s house today, do you?”

“…To be honest, we were kind of hoping you guys would poof back to normal by now.”

Shu stares at Rei. “So you were winging it this entire time.”

“Sort of?” Rei shrugs with a smile. “There were a few moments where I thought our trips might’ve been helping with the memory at least, but…”

Rei’s gaze drifts back to Wataru and the others and so does Shu’s. The speed at which Wataru spins Natsume and Kanata on their bright, round apparatus makes Shu sick to even watch. But when their faces regain clarity from their blur, and Shu feels a warmth fill his heart at the sight of their smiles, he sighs again.

“No,” Shu begins.

He thinks back to how the three of them came to, the sight of Kanata’s face, the familiar path on ES, that man with peculiar eyes… the moment his junior puts his best foot forward, the resignation he felt over Rei and Wataru’s antics, the familiarity of a lover’s lips, the comfortable way they chatted over food, the surprising amount of fun he had at the amusement park, the jealousy and protectiveness that came over him at the arcade…

And the trust that he feels when he looks back to Rei’s profile.

There’s a lot that’s still fuzzy, or threatens a throb of pain within his head, but it’s clear that the people with him right now are dear to him.

“It probably did help.”

Rei seems a bit surprised.

“Those potions back on ES… Natsume probably made Kanata and I a magical elixir to try, but something went wrong in the process.”

“Ah… So that’s what your guys’ date was all about. You two did mention feeling more sluggish as of late in HoldHands.”

“Seeing as we have Natsume’s ‘master’ of magic here in our party, you don’t suppose he can reverse engineer his potion, do you?”

“Oh. You’re saying…”

“I think,” Shu smiles, “it’s about time we head home.”

 

 

The vials, flasks, and beakers stand upright, glittering in orange remnants of daylight scattered across the sky. After standing back and giving Wataru enough room to experiment on top of the picnic blanket, the rest of them prepare for the worst when he returns to them.

“Would you prefer I deliver the good news or bad news first?”

Three of them stare concertedly.

“Good?” Kanata raises his turtle’s nub-hand.

“I think I’m close to reverse engineering Natsume’s potion!” Wataru beams.

Rei goads him to continue. “And… the bad?”

The man droops. “I can’t make heads or tails of the ratio used in one of the final steps.”

Shu glances at Natsume, who seems a bit sheepish. “I like to use encryptions for my alchemy Recipes.”

Rei hums. “You think the other members of Switch would have an idea?”

“You have a point! Perhaps I should go ask.”

Wide-eyed, Natsume looks up to Rei when Wataru breaks into a jog towards the dorms. “Switch? You Mean…”

“Yep. It’s just a question of whether it’s the little one, or if it’s Aoba-kun.”

“Aoba…”

 

 

“When I went back to my dorm room, I found Sora-kun curled up in his covers resting. He looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to disturb him. Thus! I have returned with my predecessor instead!” Wataru steps aside, presenting the man with jazz-hands.

“Ahaha. Hello, Rei-kun, Kanata-kun, Shu-kun.” The man smiles. “Natsume-chan.”

“Tsumugi-niisan?! So it is You?” Natsume’s beautiful face scrunches. “Eugh… Gross. Those glasses make you look like an old Man. Why are you so Tall? You’re so string bean-like Now, and your hair has gotten Worse.”

“Ow.” Tsumugi laughs. “That hurts. I promised I’d grow it out for you, Natsume-chan…”

Shu isn’t sure if he should look forward to knowing why he’s having a second bout of insurmountable rage today, but for now, since the man is currently their only hope back to normalcy, he’ll hold his tongue.

The lanky man is quick to correct Wataru’s work from earlier, leaving him to do the final touches as he returns to their group.

Natsume mumbles, “If you’re part of Switch, then that Sora must’ve been Harukawa-kun. When I met him he seemed Troubled… But I’m Glad. He seems happier Now.”

“You know, a lot of that is because of you, Natsume-chan.” Tsumugi smiles. “Or so I’ve been told.”

“Please.” Natsume scoffs. “I’m sure you’re there for him now Too.”

Rattle, rattle… Clink, clink, sparkle.

“Alright!” Wataru runs back over to them. “Hurry near the blanket!”

Shu jumps in alertness, looking to Natsume and Kanata, who do the same. They glance down to their plushies in their arms and shove them into their closest person respectively. Then, they grab each other and rush to the glassware.

And as they stand, hand in hand, Shu wonders what perspective his memories will take of this day.

Poof.

 

 

His finger twitches under the weight of age. He hesitates to even move his hand, but he grasps at the picnic blanket, bunching the material up to his knuckles, until he pushes his torso up.

Step, step, step…

Shu lifts his head with a groan—one that sounds deep enough to be his normal voice.

“It worked.” Rei sighs.

Good. Because if he felt like an old man in the body of a child that would’ve been…

“Ugggh…”

Shu snaps his head towards his left. “Natsume? Does your head hurt?”

“No…” Natsume says. He’s kneeling, back in his usual clothes, with his face buried in his hands. “Knowing that my niisans are now aware of how I used to dress is so Embarrassing.”

Unlike earlier, Kanata sits in seiza, energetic yet in a serene way. “Hehe, I thought Nacchan looked really ‘pretty’ though.”

Natsume curls more into himself. “Ugh.”

Shu hums in question. “I hardly think it’s something to be embarrassed about.”

“It’s different for You, Shu-niisan…”

“Well, it’s not like we haven’t been aware of it.”

“Huh?!” Natsume snaps his head up to look at Wataru.

“Even if we didn’t know, seeing Shu and Kanata was enough to make the assumption it was you with them.”

“Wh-Who told You?!”

“Um, well…” Tsumugi rubs the back of his head. “Ehehe. I might’ve let it slip a few times.”

Natsume’s eyes grow sharp. “Senpai.” He leans to grab a hold of a flask and upright himself, then rises to a stand. Walking towards Tsumugi, he beckons. “Come here.”

The man takes a couple steps back, after placing Natsume’s white cat plushie into Rei’s arms. “Haha, Natsume-kun, what are you planning on doing with that?”

“Nothing special. I just want to test how strong this is against your head.”

Natsume picks up his speed, causing Tsumugi to turn tail and run.

“Eek! Natsume-kun, it’s dangerous to run around with lab equipment!”

Kanata smiles. “Hm~ Even after ‘changing’ back, it seems like Nacchan still has his youthfulness. How nice.”

“Maybe for the boy, but I’ve had enough of youthful vigor for one day, thank you.” Shu sighs.

“Oh,” Wataru sobs against Rei’s one-handed embrace. “They grow up so fast…!”

“You can knock it off with the married couple act now.”

Rei chuckles, consoling Wataru by petting his hair. “But our love for one another is nothing but true~”

“You two… really drive me up a wall,” Shu says, having no sympathy for Aoba as he’s tackled into the dirt. “But we’re back.”

“ Ahhh! Natsume-kun!!”

“Welcome home.”