“Huh? You got a date?!?” Daichi yelled.

“Shhh, Daichi! Not so loud,” I said, trying to contain the spread of the information. Despite my attempt to keep the matter secret, I noticed more than a few stares in my direction. Especially from the girls.

This is the worst.

“Oh, wow. I never thought you’d have the guts to ask someone out!” Ayumi said, genuinely surprised. “So who’s the lucky girl?

Sigh. “I didn’t ask anyone out, first of all. Second, remember Shiina? You met her at the bookstore the other day.”

“Yikes. She’s your date? I never thought you’d rope her in.”

“And so we’re clear, this isn’t a date. I’m just meeting her to show her around town.”

“No, no. That’s clearly a date,” Daichi said with clear jealousy in his voice.

“Uh-huh, I agree,” Ayumi replied as if reading from a script.

Are these two a comedy duo or something?

“Hey, you,” I turned to Ayumi, who for some reason seemed elated. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t forced me to do that, none of this would have happened.”

“What’s the problem? You got a d-a-t-e with a pretty girl. In fact, I think you should be thanking me!”

“No way. You know I don’t like this sort of stuff. I’m only meeting with her because I felt terrible declining her when I was the one who proposed the idea.”

“Yeah, yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”

Daichi had been quiet during our back-and-forth, waiting for the right time to strike. “So, Ayumi, you met this girl, right?”

“Uh-huh. Just once though.”

“So,” Daichi started with a perverted smile, “how is she?”

This guy’s horniness knows no bounds.

“Well, she’s a real beauty. She’s tall and so elegant and her hair is sooo lustrous. That said, her face scared the life outta me when I first saw her. Maybe Takkun is into that?”

Don’t go feeding the beast, Ayumi!

Hearing this, Daichi pinched me on the arm.

“You jerk, nagging a hottie like that,” Daichi said with a defeated expression.

You could do it too if you weren’t so creepy all the time! And I didn’t nag anyone!

“Did you just ignore the part about her having a scary face?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure Takkun will be able to handle her. She looked a bit too strict for him. Her cold attitude makes it difficult to talk to her too. Frigid like an arctic storm. A true ice queen.”

“I didn’t know you were into tsunderes, Takeya. Or maybe just the tsun part,” Daichi stated as if the entire conversation was scripted.

I decided to ignore the nonsense he spewed and focused on Ayumi’s comments instead.

“So I wasn’t imagining things after all. She really changed.”

“Huh? What do you mean, Takkun?”

“Well, the thing is, when I met her yesterday, she was a completely different person. She was fidgety and spoke so softly it was unreal. I was going nuts thinking my recollection of her was wrong.”

“Wait, really? I can’t imagine that. You sure it’s her and not her good twin or something?”

“This isn’t a soap opera. She clearly remembered me.”

“I see no mystery here. She has a severe case of tsunderetitis. After Takeya professed his love, her icy heart melted away and left the sweet core behind.” Daichi nudged my side, winking like some college bro you’d see in American cinema.

Thankfully for Daichi, the bell rang just before I could retort.

Right before the teacher entered the classroom, Ayumi came closer to me and whispered, “Takkun, good luck! I hope you have fun!”

This simple comment left me feeling like I was completely adrift in the middle of the ocean.

* * *

The remainder of that week passed by at a snail’s pace. Every morning, it felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper into quicksand—the more I struggled, the deeper I sank.

That weird, intangible sensation that something was off got worse with each passing day. I struggled to pinpoint what this sensation was, but the truth was surrounded by an impenetrable fog that got thicker the further in I went.

The main reason for this was the way Ayumi had been acting. Sure, she was making the same incomprehensible demands, and was the same occult-obsessed nutjob she had always been. But sometimes, she made a comment or acted in a way that was just outside what I came to expect from her.

It was driving me crazy. Even Daichi noticed that something was getting to me. When I brought the subject up with him, he completely dismissed my concerns.

“She’s probably worried about going to university and having to leave you behind. Or maybe she’s on her period,” he said with his usual lightness.

Trust me, I know when she’s on her period. This definitely isn’t it.

For obvious reasons, I couldn’t disclose that to him.

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I tried to convince myself there was nothing wrong at all, that it was all in my mind.

Nevertheless, by Thursday I had finally reached a breaking point. I could no longer fool myself. After all, I was the one who knew Ayumi the best; it was only natural that I was particularly attuned to any changes in her.

Unfortunately, even after I accepted Ayumi had changed, the sleepless nights didn’t stop. It got to the point where I began avoiding spending more time with her than necessary. I even prevented her from coming with me to the bookstore.

But even that place wasn’t the haven I once believed it was, not after Shiina’s strange one-eighty. I doubted it would happen, but the possibility that she might show up again left me on guard the whole time. Her changes were much more obvious than Ayumi’s, but the source was just as mysterious. I even considered canceling our lunch meeting on Saturday, but the image of her pleading face convinced me otherwise.

On top of all that, I couldn’t shake the weird feeling that something was off with me. It was unusual for me to be unable to pinpoint when and where certain events had happened. Where did Ayumi and my knowledge about angels come from?

I could feel my mind trying to fill in the blanks with false memories. That certainly was the easiest option. I almost gave in to the temptation a few times.

After all, it would be so much easier. The anguish I had been feeling would vanish, but I swore to myself that I wouldn’t do that unless the stress reached an unbearable point. I would figure out what was wrong, one way or another.

* * *

On Friday, gym class crept up on me while I was in a broken state of mind. I was physically and mentally exhausted from all the stress and lack of sleep.Totally unsuited to do any physical activity whatsoever. I thought about skipping classes again, but my attendance record was already in the gutter. Plus, I didn’t want to force my mom to come to school and have an embarrassing talk with my homeroom teacher. At first glance, the possibility of a relaxed weekend seemed promising, but there was one problem I needed to deal with first. I still had that lunch date with Shiina the next day. The thought of it stressed me out, so I just hoped for Sunday to come quickly instead.

One more day… Just one more day.

However, my prayers were not heard by whatever god was out there. Or perhaps, in a twisted sense, they were.

It happened sometime after the beginning of class. That day, the boys were playing volleyball first and the girls were playing soccer. The two groups would switch courts halfway through class.

I never understood the reason behind sports, and I loathe playing them myself. Combining that initial disposition with my exhaustion, disaster was bound to happen.

“Yo, Takeya, everything okay?” Daichi asked during a brief break.

“Yeah, I’m just not sleeping much these days.”

“Because of Ayumi?”

I thought he was about to come over to my side, but he wasn’t convinced.

A sudden grin rose on his face. “Or are you looking forward to your date so much you can’t sleep?”

“Of course not, you idiot,” I said, punching him weakly in the arm. I didn’t intend for it to be that pathetic.

That’s when the ground started trembling. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.

“An earthquake?” someone asked.

It definitely felt like one at first. The tremor was slight, sure, but as citizens of Japan, we were rather sensitive to the occasional quake.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem particularly strong.

Before anyone could point out that fact, there was a sudden spike in the intensity of the tremor. Its immense strength forced everyone to lose their footing and tumble to the ground. My own fall was less than stellar.

An uneasy feeling spread across the whole gym. Although this sort of quake wasn’t enough to bring down the entire building, it still was scary to think it could happen.

“Kids, move next to the walls. Remember to duck down and protect your head!” The teacher instructed as he demonstrated what to do. Though, it was plainly obvious he was scared like the rest of us.

But before anyone could move, a piercing scream halted our progression.

“W-what’s happening? I-I’m stuck!”

Everyone immediately turned to the girl who had shouted.

That is, everyone who could.

As I tried to turn around, I felt resistance coming from my feet as if they were stuck in wet sand. When I looked down, I noticed that my feet had sunken into the ground without me realizing it. The floor looked normal at first glance, but the ripples propagating through the surface as I tried to move were clearly bizarre. It was as if the floor turned to some sort of viscous fluid.

Oh, heck. What’s going on here? This isn’t good.

Only then did I start to panic, right along with everyone else present.

“Ah! I’m stuck too!” someone else screamed.

“W-What the hell is happening?” another voice from behind me asked, tinged with panic.

Some people struggled against the now mushy ground, managing to move a bit. Others simply stood in place, considering their options. Maybe they were too shocked to think anything at all.

Not only were we stuck, but we were sinking as well. I tried wiggling my legs, but quickly realized that slow and steady movements were the best option. With some time and effort, it would be possible to move around. This wasn’t exactly like quicksand where moving caused one to sink deeper. It felt more like thick molasses. If someone could reach a wall and grab a rope, they would be able to rescue everyone.

Calm down. This looks worse than it is.

With my spirits reinforced, I glanced at the other students. Most had reached the same conclusion I had. They were trying to talk to others while making their way to the ones who hadn’t figured it out.

That was when I spotted Ayumi, who happened to be nearby. She was trying her hardest to move through the substance, but with the amount of force she was using, she wasn’t getting anywhere. Because of her small stature, she was stuck up to her hips already.

In short, she was panicking.

When I finally got close enough to her, she grabbed the sleeve of my gym jacket and pulled herself close. When she looked up and spoke her next words, I felt my heart sink right into the ground.

“T-Takkun, h-help me. Please, I-I can’t move!” Ayumi said with pleading eyes, on the verge of tears.

However, I ignored her pleas.

Despite being thrown into a supernatural incident, the thing she devoted her whole life to, she wasn’t excited.

Far from it.

She was afraid.

Only then, with her this close to me, did I notice the final nail in the coffin.

I glared into her eyes, not believing what I was seeing.

Their usual sheen, the powerful drive behind them that didn’t care who or what they pierced, was gone.

Her eyes looked dull and lifeless, almost as if she were an automaton with no will of her own.

In spite of the chaos around us, and Ayumi’s pleading words, time froze for me.

At that moment, I finally recognized what had been bothering me.

This isn’t Ayumi.

No matter the circumstances, Ayumi would never react like this. She would be ecstatic about being dragged into an actual supernatural event, even if she was in peril. Somewhere, somehow, Ayumi was replaced by this fake. The difference is subtle, but it’s there.

I know how crazy this makes me sound, believing your friend has been replaced.

But I’m more than ready to face the consequences of this decision.

My inner thoughts stopped my body from doing anything. But before Ayumi could plead for help again, another tremor spread through the ground—the strongest one yet. The sudden movement of the earth made us sink even further. Ayumi collapsed into my arms.

Right as I was about to help her pull herself out of the ground, a loud, cracking noise came from above.

When I looked up, massive fissures spread through the ceiling tiles.

Everyone screamed in unison.

Stuck in the ground like this, there was no way to escape the falling debris.

If those things fall…

I was still working through that thought when another tremor struck. With it, a crack bifurcated the ceiling. Both halves, now unsupported, fractured into massive pieces plummeting toward the floor.

I didn’t have time to think about what was about to happen. Everything occurred in a matter of seconds, but there was one thing I knew for sure: we were probably all going to die.

What I hadn’t noticed was that, throughout the entire ordeal, one person had remained silent.

The person who had saved us all.