The man checked his wallet. In his I.D, the name ‘Takeshi’ appears in bold lettering to the right of a photo of a man with a stern expression. A white slip of paper filled the space between the compartment, but nothing more.

“I don’t suppose you have any money yourself, Mary?” the man said with one hand in his suit pocket. His voice was soft spoken yet, somehow, it was all the more ominous by how juxtaposed it was. He brought his hand out to loosen his necktie as the hot weather made wearing it a burden. Though it was a busy workday, where he stood was packed with people passing about. Behind him, a foreign girl approached him with charisma in every step.

“Teehee— If you count currency that this region doesn’t accept, then I’m rich.” The weight of all of the instruments on her back didn’t seem to wear her down on this hot day. Side by side, looking up at the man with a grin on her face, she appeared far from discontented.

“Take-san, remember Yui? I’m sure she would be able to figure out a way to persuade the staff without resorting to her gift.”

“I suppose. Part of the reason she was selected was because of her high intelligence. But that doesn’t matter to us now. If we don’t demonstrate our own intelligence, then retrieving that girl would have been a waste of time and energy.”

“はい、はい。Sorry, I just miss her and her shut-in nature. She used to read a lot of books so this kinda reminded me of her.” Mary said, “Alright, sorry for stalling. Let’s get this show on the road!”

With a spin of her dress, Mary hovered her way to the grand building in front of the two. Across the sliding glass doors, she found herself relieved from the hot weather. She looked up at the shining expanse of the room. Its golden walls were accented by oak columns, leading her eyes to the simple yet clean light fixtures. Her slip ons tapped against the offwhite ceramic flooring.

She wandered through the flow of people moving about for a couple of minutes before finding a certain doorway with a bald man standing in front.

Oh? That must be where the auction hall is. If I recall, the one guarding the door is called a ‘bouncer’. Eh...this language is strange...

Closing his eyes and yawning, the bouncer didn’t notice the girl approaching him until she stood right in front of him with a smile on her face. Surprised at such a sight, a smirk came across his face.

“Well, well. Looks like we got a looker here. A foreigner to boot.” the bouncer said, peering down at Mary’s face.

“A looker? Just, when I thought I learned every single word in this language…” she said, her smile wearing off.

“Heh. Watch’a doin here at an auction house like this?”

“To participate in the auction, of course. As far as I can tell, you look like a word that has another strange meaning that I at least know. A ‘predator’ is what they call it.”

Her remark made his eyebrow twitch ever so slightly. “C’mon now. Don’t be like that. Anyways, I’m afraid I can’t let you through. The room capacity was already full a while ago.”

“Huh?!” Mary frowned at his words. “But isn’t this hall like… really big? It should house like a few more people at least…!”

“No can do miss. But hey, you know what? How about we make a deal?”

“A deal?”

“That’s right. How about this? I can let you through, and then after, we can share a few drinks at night at the local pub? Then you can play me a few songs with those instruments of yours.”A slight sneer found its way on his face, but the bouncer managed to keep it down through his years of experience.

“...Is that even legal…?” Mary questioned, placing her index finger on her chin.

“Certainly around these parts.”

“...Sorry but, I’m going to have to refuse your offer. After all, we don’t even know each other’s names.”

There’s a huge flaw in his proposal. Did he really think I was ignorant enough to not tell that it doesn’t make any sense?

He sighed. “You might just regret it, miss. You will have to remain outside. Keep your money and go spend it somewhere else.”

Mary glared at the bouncer in disgust. She knew that she could end his life with one quick note of her xiao, but she refrained from taking it out. Caving into her annoyance wouldn’t solve anything.

“Sorry sir, but I heard that assault is illegal here in this city.” A voice called out from the crowd.

“...Now what?”

Emerging from the flow of people, Takeshi walked straight to the bouncer, and brought himself right next to Mary. Resigning to his fate, the bouncer returned to his level of professionalism just before he found the girl in front of him.

“I’ll let that comment slide. But for your information, sir, the room capacity is full like I explained to the mistress.”

“Really now, because from what I can tell from looking through the TVs in the lobby, there are still open seats present.”

“Those are reserved seats only, regular patrons cannot use those.”

“They never informed me of such a restriction.” Takeshi said, arching an eyebrow.

“Well they just implemented the rule starting now, sir. Sorry about that but it seems like you have to—”

Without any warning, his vision flashed. The bouncer almost lost his footing as he felt the sudden jolt of light-headedness. It was short, he quickly recovered his ground, but needed to support himself against the doorframe. What had happened just now? He was just talking to a man and then...

“Who’s… wait… what was I doing again…?”

The bouncer rubbed his eyes. He was ordered to have the door remain closed, but the view of the entire stage welcomed him as soon as he turned his head around. Did he leave it open all this time? Either way, his paycheck was going to get a cut. Closing it, he laughed to himself.

I’m forgetful these days.

・・・・・

Taking a seat in the back row, Mary marveled at the grand expanse of the auction hall. It was packed to the brim with people in formal wear. Perhaps, she should’ve done a better job at matching up with the level of formality. Looking to her right, Takeshi seemed that he planned ahead, but she knew that he always wore such attire. But never before did he do such an action like that earlier.

“‘Assault’, Take-san?” Mary said while chuckling, “Tee-hee! What are you, a wuxia hero following your code?”

Poking his arm continuously, she arched a sly brow. “Walking in like that and confronting an evildoer, that is just cute…”

Ignoring her tease, Takeshi watched as two people walked up on the stage. One pushed a wooden cart with a gray sheet draped over the top, housing the item they needed. The proceedings were about to start.

“I...was only doing what my subconscious was telling me.” he said, preferring to focus on the event at hand rather than dealing with her antics.

“...”

Ah, that’s right. That’s why nobody liked him. Mary thought.

Breaking the awkward silence, the sound of a microphone beep spread around the hall and called the attention of everyone among the seats. From the stage, a woman held a mic with a pinky out. As far as she was concerned, she was only there for the excitement. So she can be as rowdy as she wanted.

“Let’s get the ball rolling, shall we? Welcome to the 27th annual Fallway auction! Ladies and gentlemen, what we have for you now is a rare prize, even for this well-established auction house!”

The sheet was flung away to reveal what was covered: A sheathed sword resting on a wooden stand. Across the crown grew oohs and aahs. 

“This right here is a legendary sword that is said to have ended a war thousands and thousands of years ago! It’s name is called the ‘Tsurugi!’”

That’s what it’s name was, to modern people. However, in the history books and from urban legends, ‘Tsurugi’ was only half of its full name, as it’s other half was erased by its wielder. Mary specifically remembered her elders talk about the sword every other week around the fire. Most of the boys would be heavily invested every single time, but she personally grew tired of it the third telling. She only wondered, how did it get here, in an auction house of all places?

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“Let’s start the bidding at 1 thousand!”

With the deafening cheer of the crowd, hands shot in the air left and right.

“I have 3 thousand, I have 9 thousand! I have 12 thousand! #205 doubles it to 24 thousand!” The auctioneer darted her eyes around the entire hall, easily juggling the rising bid of the item alongside the many hand signals in the audience.

The bids only kept on increasing, as the rate at which hands flew around barely slowed down. After 5 minutes of continuous battles, the score was settled. At 30 billion, the winner was decided.

“#501 takes the cake! At 30 billion!!! Would they be so kind as to come up on stage and give a few remarks?!”

At first, there was a bit of murmuring. Those who sit in the front are the ones to win in the auctions, so to their surprise, no one stood up. However this time, a squeaking of a chair came from all the way back. Every step down the stairs ushered a level of silence that the crowd had never experienced before. As Takeshi walked up on stage to face the entire hall, the hostess paused. She looked around as if she had gotten lost.

Oh crap that’s right! I’m hosting a freaking auction right now, what am I spacing out for?! Right, uh, this man must’ve been the highest bidder. He… um...

“Umm… Sorry sir, but at what price did we reach upon again?”

“Oh, no need to apologize. We reached 4 million, remember?”

4 million? The hostess shifted her weight to her other leg, trying to recall all of the hand signals that led up to that bid. But for the life of her, her memory was hazy.

“...Oh! Yes, that’s correct! Anyways, we’ll have you submit your payment momentarily and have the item delivered soon after.”

“That’ll be great. I’ll get all of the necessary information sent. Thank you.”

・・・・・

“Thank you good sir.” A man with a goatee said taking a check of 4 million from Takeshi. The two sat in front of a table, with the Sword of Tsurugi resting on top.

“As the winner of the auction, you should already know what you’re getting into but I have to say this. Be careful with that item.”

“I will.”

Perhaps still feeling underprepared, the man leaned the side of his head on his fist and offered a few more words.

“Generally auctions are held to give away major art pieces, and of course, those are a bit easier to transport. But then there are a few odd balls such in the case that we have here right now. Please treat it as you would treat your own child.”

Takeshi only closed his eyes and nodded. If he knew that he would obliterate every square inch of the sword, then the man would have ripped up the check right then and there.

“I’ll bear that in mind. Thank you for your service.” he said, handling the sword so as to have a firm grip. In his hand, he swore he could have felt a slight pressure just from the sheethe alone.

Walking leisurely on the trail, the two started their journey back to where they came from. Mary not only wields several instruments on her back, but also a legendary sword in her hands. Though, it was a shame she couldn’t show it off towards her fellow villagers anymore. Holding such a sword now was meaningless.

Takeshi slowed his pace and let his eyes adrift, viewing the green landscape of Fallway’s more greenside. It was a nice break from the stuffy, loud room filled with hundreds of people. But this relaxation subsided as a faint, yet audible sound emerged from somewhere within the landscape causing him to stop his pace completely. There was something amiss in the air. That sound wasn’t a normal occurrence.

“Oh? Something wrong?” Mary said as she noticed his concerned expression when looking back.

At first, he said nothing. Did he just imagine it? After all, this was his first time being in this particular area. Then again, it was the type of sound like something had ruptured or bursted. He thought of a balloon popping, but it was much deeper than pop such as that.

“Sorry, but can you continue on without me? I’m going to check on something.”

“What? C’mon the weather’s starting to look a bit rough...” Mary said, her voice trailing off as Takeshi had already walked into the field. She sighed and brought out her pipa from her back, knowing this will take a while. Let’s see… How about something calming?

・・・・・

Just a couple minutes ago… Sitting in an open field, I was just eating soup and talking about whatever with the first person who chose to come up to me. It was really the first time that I got a chance to relax, especially with another person alongside me. I’ve only just begun to learn more about this person after a not-so great first impression. Yet, it all went down the drain once I saw that man in front of me. I couldn’t just have one more second of peace? Why then, did it have to end? Why then, do I feel like I already know what’s about to happen to us?

“I thought I sensed Aoi usage here. And here I thought I would be done with Azure. Yet, it seems that I have to clean up where I left off one week ago.” 

Riki thought he would be scared. His mere presence spoke volumes about what the man was, not just what he was capable of, but also his method of dealing with others. Just the knowledge of his ability would send anyone down into panic. Figuring he would be unable to move due to sheer fear, he put all of his effort to stand up. But he was surprised by how steady his legs were holding.

“That man… no… it’s…” Charlotte’s voice trailed off as her own legs shook instead, “Why here? Why is he… here?”

Light streaks of precipitation brushed against their skin. The sky had lessened until an overecomassing dark gray covered every inch of blue.

“Riki! Charlotte! What are you two doing? You have to escape there NOW!” From the other side of the screen, Tamaki gripped the table in frustration. She was powerless in this situation. The only thing she could do was to watch three dots on a monitor that has yet to move. But the advent of a voice in the air caused the man to shift his gaze up into the sky.

“Communication via Aoi. I must say, I’m impressed that they managed that far.”

Eep! Not realizing that the ‘enemy’ could have been hearing her as well, Tamaki’s heart began to palpitate even more than it already was. She still didn’t know who this person exactly was that were in front of the two, but the mere response from him sent shivers down her spine. Yes, she was safe behind the monitor, but she felt the anguish all the same.

“...You were that person with that instrument player that controlled flames…” Charlotte clenched her hand. Taking a few steps to close the distance between her and Riki, she grew a thin sheet of kudzu vine and squeezed his arm to indicate her plan of escape. Charlotte needed him to escape first while she held the man’s legs down with kudzu vines. She especially needed to do this before he used his Aoi to make the both of them forget what was happening, just so she could buy time.

If there are signs where things happen that shouldn’t then they would be under the influence of his Aoi. That is the one thing that she can’t let happen.

“And you two seem vaguely familiar.” The man said before chuckling. “I see. Back then, you two were present at the time where I erased the public’s memories of that ‘incident’ I should say.”

It’s him. He was the one. The one who wiped all of my memories. And the one who...

Riki’s pulse surged, causing him to grip the fabric of his shirt next to his heart. His fingers dug deep, feeling as though he was stabbing himself. Again and again, the same few thoughts kept running through his mind, each time he felt as if he was losing his place in reality. 

One of the two... who was responsible for that girl’s suffering... I can do it... I just learned how to use my power… I can bring him down and force him to let that girl go...

There was no choice but to cave in to that overwhelming sense of hatred. As heavy as it was, Riki lifted his arm up and summoned a sphere of light. A pain reverberated throughout his arm, traveling and bouncing around throughout the rest of his body, but he didn’t care. To her dismay, this decision completely baffled Charlotte, thinking he was smarter than this to allow his emotions to take over him.

“Idiot...! ...You can’t! You’re still recovering from overusing your Aoi!” 

“I have to ask. Why did you attack that girl?” Riki demanded, ignoring her plea to go along with the plan.

“Why? I assure you, I did nothing special. I simply decided to as I saw fit.”

“What the hell kind of reason is that?”

“Please,” Charlotte whispered, “Don’t be a fool like this… Just trust me…!”

For Riki, his mind was weak. What had happened before his presence in Fallway on that day must’ve left him feeble and incompetent. It would have been just as easy to obey her, yet his soul only had one goal in mind.

“I... can’t let that girl alone like this…!” With the advent of his own whisper, the ball of light glowed even brighter. He could feel the life of him being sapped from his whole body at the same rate as its luminosity and size. Why am I doing this? Why can’t I just run like she says?

The pain in his chest somehow communicated to him that it was inevitable: that the man would end up erasing their memories all the same. 

Even so, he shot his light sphere aimed straight towards the man’s head. In that brief time where it traveled the distance in a matter of a second, the man took one single step. And then, he disappeared. Rather, they forgot where he currently stood. Or if he had walked from where he stood where they remembered, they had already forgotten. The light sphere traveled into the horizon without meeting its mark.

“Ah…” Just then, the tension in Charlotte’s whole body ceased.

“Asimov…”

The battle ended before they even realized, without so much of a grand spectacle. A blade of thought, honed to a singular point, pierced Riki’s consciousness and tore the fabric of his mind. The next thing Riki saw was Charlotte’s lips moving. But he couldn’t hear her words at first.

She’s right. I am such an idiot… I chose not to listen to her and followed my own instincts. Now look where it got me...

...I don’t want to forget again… I don’t want to forget the only things I have left… Keijin… Katou… Oluka… Asimov… Charlotte… Kaori…. Tamaki…! I… I don’t want to forget… the only people that I ever met…

“I.m.. So..rry.”

In a sea of thoughts, Riki heard a voice’s apology. Soon after, the familiar feeling of kudzu vines emerged and wrapped itself around his torso. He still remembered that same level of pressure when the vines pressed against him. And he remembered that same brush of air deafening his ears as his body felt weightless.

In the midst of the wind, he felt something touch against his hand. Soft, yet thin. Somehow, a lavender flower found its way into Riki’s hand and he gripped it as to not let it blow away. To associate his mind to remind him whenever he looked at it, that was her last goal. Remind him, to run. To keep going.

It was as if she was saying: This was the first order from Asimov that I had failed to fulfill. And quite possibly going to be the last as well. Please, rescue that girl for the sake of his last command.