The next day at lunch, I was faced with a familiar scene.

“Unfortunately, no evidence of any angel activity was found. This was Field Report #36 by The Supernatural Detective.’ Oh, and here are the credits. Let’s see… oh, there we go. ‘Footage by Takkun.’ Ayumi’s pet name for you is so sweet she can’t help but share it with the world,” the guy sitting in front of me said while holding back a laugh.

Damn, he’s so annoying.

I stopped eating and glared at him. “For you to keep watching those garbage videos, your life must really be a drag. I feel sorry for you.”

“I watch them precisely because of those priceless reactions you have, Takeya. I was sure you two were going on dates behind our backs with all those escapades, but the truth is even funnier! You aren’t getting any action and instead, you’re just apprenticing as her cameraman! You have to agree, it’s hilarious.”

Daichi stared hard at me with that annoying smile of his, trying to provoke another reaction. All this teasing was entirely my fault.

For as long as I’ve known her, Ayumi has been interested in the supernatural. Of course, she wouldn’t let this recent craze pass her by, and so opened her own TuTube channel. All she does is “investigate” supernatural incidents on the field; and yet, the channel is surprisingly popular, with over ten thousand subscribers. Naturally, I couldn’t let her go to all these dangerous places by herself, so I’ve reluctantly been going as well. As the supernatural incidents became more frequent, so too did these “field trips”. By the time we began our senior high school year, I no longer could make excuses for where we were going. Daichi kept insisting that she and I were going out on dates. So, I chose the lesser of two evils and showed him the channel, hoping he would pipe down.

Unfortunately, that had backfired.

Hard.

“You aren’t fairing much better, are you?” I said in hopes of getting Daichi to back down.

“Please… don’t remind me of that,” he said with an exasperated sigh. “Your closet, lovey-dovey relationship is already hard enough on my poor heart.”

Daichi had been singing this same tune since we became friends in middle school. He was usually a cool dude, and we shared the same taste in anime and games, so we ended up flocking together.

When it came to the ladies, though, he turned into an absolute idiot. Because he played so many dating sims, he believed he could use his “knowledge” to become a ladies’ man. Except, of course, the real world wasn’t a crappy dating sim. Despite his good looks, girls didn’t seem to care much about him, so his gallant spirit never had the opportunity to shine.

“Anyway, let’s talk about something else before I become even more depressed. So what exactly are these… ‘angels’ that Ayumi always talks about?”

I let out a small sigh. “I’ll start by saying this is all a bunch of bologna. I’m just the messenger.”

“Right.”

“So, angels are like…”

I was about to go on a whole exposition—no, a dissertation!—on everything Ayumi had drilled into me about that stupid urban legend, but someone interrupted me.

It was a sweet girl’s voice. One I didn’t hear too often.

“Angels? You mean that urban legend stuff?”

Daichi and I looked up at the girl, who had her reddish-brown hair in Dutch braids. She was holding a bento in her hands and was surrounded by a few of our female classmates.

“Oh, you know something about them, Futaba?” Daichi asked.

“Hmm, just a bit,” she said with her index finger next to her lips. “I've seen people talking about them online sometimes.”

“Really? You think you could tell us about them?” Daichi asked with the most obnoxious smile he could muster.

So you’re ignoring my honest attempts at explaining this in favor of a girl you barely know? That’s low, even for you.

I directed my most annoyed face at Daichi, to which he gaped in response.

The freckled girl paused to think about Daichi’s suggestion. “Sure, I guess I can tell you what I know.”

With a smile, she excused herself from the group of girls, and pushed the table next to mine—which was Ayumi’s—next to ours, and sat down.

“So why are you two interested in angels anyway? Didn’t see you as the type to like paranormal gobbledygook,” she asked with a sweet smile.

“I could say the same about you, though,” I responded.

Futaba seemed taken aback, as she took a few moments to respond. “Ah, no, I’m not that interested.” She waved her hands in front of her chest. “You know, with all this supernatural hype lately, it’s all people talk about online. It’s all silly stuff, really.”

Since neither Daichi nor I questioned her statement, she brought back her question from earlier. “What about you two? Influences from Ayumi, I presume?”

“Yep. All she has inside her head are angels and tumbleweeds.”

“You have no idea how deep it goes!” Daichi exclaimed. He was trying too hard to impress the girl, and it was painful to watch. “She’s been all about this supernatural and mysterious stuff, even before all this recent craze. She even has a TuTube channel about them!”

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

“Oh, for real? That’s impressive… in its own way.” The freckled girl stared at Ayumi on the other end of the room, chatting happily and eating with her girlfriends, unaware of our conversation about her.

Speaking of mysteries, my newest classmate, Kotori Futaba, was also a bit of an unknown entity. Of course, not in the Ayumi-sense of the expression; I merely hadn’t had enough time to judge her very well. She had only transferred to our class at the beginning of the semester. No matter how I looked at her, she was a perfectly normal girl. One could certainly call her plain, but she wasn’t plain enough to be boring. She did have these beautiful, crystalline sky-blue eyes, which immediately caught Daichi’s attention the first time he saw her.

“So can you elucidate us with your great knowledge, oh great Futaba?” Daichi insisted with painful eloquence.

“Hmm, well, I don’t know that much,” she said as she opened her bento and started eating with little reservation. “It’s, like, an urban legend or something that has been going around for aaaages. Even before all the recent buzz. People claim they see these humanoid figures made of light before mysteriously passing out. No one knows who or what they are, so they call ‘em ‘angels’. Some experts say they could have inspired angel-like beings in religion and stuff. But there’re these wild rumors saying they are these super-smart aliens run the world behind our backs. And you know what’s even more wack? No photos or videos of 'em anywhere.”

“Wow, it’s honestly amazing someone came up with this.”

You should try saying that to the angeologist herself, Daichi. She wouldn’t let you escape unscathed.

“But wait, if these creatures are made of light, then how can they stay hidden so easily?” He asked.

“Of course, they can make themselves invisible or masquerade as normal humans. They live among us! Also, they erase the memories of most people who are unfortunate enough to cross paths with them. Yeah, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds,” I responded.

“Normal humans, huh? I wonder if I know any,” Daichi commented off-handedly, looking around the half-empty classroom.

Both Futaba and I had to contain a giggle.

“So, Takeya, is Ayumi on a mission to prove angels exist or something?”

“I wish it was just that. She actually wants to meet an angel for real.”

The girl’s expression was one of contained surprise.

“Wow. That’s… kinda out there, don’t you think?”

Even Daichi couldn’t help but be surprised.

“It’s a lot more complicated… She has her own reasons in the midst of all that madness. I’ve kept her in check for a few years now, but… For better or for worse, this recent surge of sightings has caused her to go into overdrive. We’ve been going to the places where these incidents happened to discover any evidence of their existence. Surprise, surprise, so far we’ve found nothing, which only fuels her drive even more. It’s a never-ending cycle.”

When I raised my gaze, I noticed Futaba peering at me.

You’re being way too serious about this for someone who isn’t that interested in the first place, no?

She noticed the suspicion on my expression and raised the corners of her mouth gently. “Oh, you’ve been going with her too?”

“Yes, he’s the cameraman.” Unable to suppress it any longer, Daichi started laughing hysterically.

However, neither Futaba nor I followed his guffaw. She squared me with a serious expression, and spoke with a grounded voice.

“So Takeya, why are you going on these supposed ‘expeditions’ if you’re not interested in the first place?”

I shrugged in response.

“Ayumi’s an impulsive idiot. If I don’t keep an eye out for her, I know she’ll do something stupid or get into a dangerous situation. We actually got into some pretty hairy situations in the past.”

Like yesterday, for example. Not that I can tell them that.

“Yeah, yeah, you keep giving that excuse.” Daichi then leaned over to Futaba and murmured, though I could still hear him perfectly. “Between you and me, they are madly in love with each other, but no one’s willing to take the first step.”

“That joke’s so old that at this point, it’s already due for retirement. We’re just childhood friends,” I said while rolling my eyes.

Daichi sighed and shook his head as he scrunched his face in anguish. “No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to crack this nut.”

“Pfff!” For some reason, Futaba seemed to have found our exchange funny. She began giggling cutely, which prevented me from noticing someone else had sneaked up on us.

“Oh-ho? This is an unusual combo. Kotori with Takkun and Daichi?” Ayumi’s smile was impeccable, but I noticed a shade of something sinister hidden deep within her expression. “What were you talking about?”

“We started off chatting about your TuTube channel,” Daichi said. “Futaba heard us and decided to join in on our conversation since she knows a little bit about angels.”

“She does? Are you interested in them as well, Kotori?”

Ayumi’s eyes gleamed with hope, as if they were asking ‘are you one of my people?!’.

“Not really that much, I’m afraid. I just scrolled through a post talking about them.”

Ayumi’s eyes showed her obvious disappointment, but her voice didn’t betray her. “That’s a great place to start! If you ever want to know more about them, you know who to consult!”

“Haha. Gotcha. Well, I've hogged your table for long enough. I should get back to the girls,” Futaba said as she repacked her bento. “It was fun talking to you two! Bye!”

As Futaba left for her girl friends with a small wave, she was replaced by Ayumi, who sat on her designated seat.

“So, what made you come back? Did you have a fight with your friends?” I asked.

“No, nothing of the sort. I wanted to ask you something.” Ayumi continued, adjusting her hairpin. “You’re working today, right? I’ll come along so wait for me after school’s over.”

Sigh. Not this again.

“When did you become an employee there? I must have just missed the news.”

“Hey, I contribute to business... sometimes! And the owner doesn’t mind either.”

Well, the fact was that she was one of the few regulars in that failing bookstore, despite complaining about the high prices all the time. I didn’t like Ayumi coming over because, more often than not, she’d ruin those precious afternoons of peace.

“Why do you keep coming anyway? You’re always complaining about the lack of air conditioning.”

“B-Because! I can’t do research at home! I get distracted and stuff!”

You just want to bother me, that’s why.

“Don’t you have to study for the university exams?”

“Ugh-gna… It’s fine, it’s fine. They are still a long way away, and you know that studying months beforehand is not my jam.”

Sigh.

“Okay, I give up. It’s not like I can stop you anyway.”

“Yay! Wait for me after classes finish!” she said as she returned to her group, skipping a bit.

Daichi watched Ayumi leave with a forlorn expression. “Ayumi… Futaba… You attract a lot of female attention, don’t you?”

“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose. Maybe I’m a natural?”

That was enough to shut him up for the rest of the lunch hour.