[Group Message: Aiko Matsuura :P, Ryu Kase]

Aiko: “you sure this is a good idea?”

Aiko: “what if they think i’m weird”

Ryu: “good news… they’re also weird. hope this helps!”

Aiko: “okay but”

Aiko: “what if i have too much estrogen”

Aiko: “aren’t boys always like”

Aiko: “grrr!!!! testosterone!!!! (⌐■_■)”

Aiko: “i don’t bleed blood. I bleed BEER”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Aiko”

“You gotta loosen up a bit!”

Aiko: “don’t talk to me right now,,,,, the stocks are down”

Ryu: “just do anything BUT this and they’ll like you just fine”

Aiko: “guys!!! i just spent 33k yen on an idol figure!!!”

Aiko: “why won’t my wife have sex with me (ಥ﹏ಥ) ”

[Text Message: Ryu Kase]

“is she still going”

“i haven’t opened the chat in like five minutes”

“Yeah this happens sometimes”

“Just let her get it out of her system”

“okay good”

“because my phone won’t fuckin stop buzzing”

“i’m getting a really weird look from my sailing instructor”

  Last night, I was trying to come up with ways to help Aiko learn how to trust more people than just me, so I thought it would be a fun idea to invite her to lunch with Ryu and I, and then introduce her to Eiichi and Hiro. That way, she could feel more comfortable around our entire friend group, thus making her less wary around people she meets through her current friends, meaning she’d be on track to making friends on her own in no time!

  …is what I thought at the time, at least. Aiko was initially on board with the idea, but her frantic text messages grew more and more frequent throughout the morning. Ryu certainly did his best to keep her nerves under control, but I knew better than he did that this task was about as simple as resealing a tin can that had already been ripped to shreds. By the time my calculus class had ended, her texts had become so anxiety-ridden and incomprehensible that I asked her to just meet me outside the computer lab before lunch. After Hiro, Ryu and I left class, I successfully split off from the group without them noticing I was gone so I could wait for Aiko.

  It was an unusually hot afternoon, especially for this time of year. Even with the breeze ever-so-slightly easing the burden that the heat put on my skin, it was like I was being roasted alive while I waited patiently for Aiko to arrive. I was lucky enough to have finally remembered to start wearing my sunglasses for the first time all semester - Otherwise, the sun would’ve probably burnt holes straight through my corneas by now. Now that I think about it, does having two different eye colors make the rays of light interact with my irises any differently? (and Other Weird Questions You Can Ask Yourself While Killing Time!)

  Aiko came running up the stairs while messily tying a little black ribbon into a sad excuse for a bow on her hair. When she caught up to me, she was completely spent. “Oh my… I’m sorry… I was just… I won’t do it again…” All the while, she was still tying and untying her bow without any greater success.

  “...Here. Let me get that for you.” I brushed her bangs to the side and tied an even worse bow to hold them in place. “Did you really run all the way here just because of this ribbon?”

  She awkwardly laughed as she looked at herself with her phone’s camera. “Yeah… kinda silly, right?” Aiko eventually gave up on making the bow look decent and left it be. “After we left theatre class earlier, I started getting super self-conscious about my appearance and ran back to my dorm to fix myself up. Before I knew it, I saw your text and realized that I was supposed to be here about five minutes ago.”

  I looked at her outfit, noticing that it was completely different from the one that she wore to class. Aiko was now wearing a quaint green sundress - considerably less vintage than her regular wardrobe. “Hey, Aiko, you didn’t have to do all this. You're not seriously this worried about my friends thinking you’re weird, are you?”

  “Genjo, of course they’re gonna think I’m weird if I show up dressed like Audrey fuckin’ Hepburn.” Aiko reached down and fixed the bottom of her dress. “I wanna make a good first impression.”

  “That’s exactly my point, Aiko. It’s part of your charm, honestly.” Before I knew it, my legs started carrying me towards the front door to the dining hall, guiding Aiko along with me. “My friends aren’t going to hate you, I promise.”

  Aiko nervously rubbed her arm with her left hand as she walked through the open door. This gave me a chance to notice that, even though she had changed out of her original dress, she still kept her black lace gloves on. “You better be right about this, Genjo. Because if you’re lying…” But once she stepped through the doorway, her solemn demeanor completely changed back into her usual bubbly self. Aiko turned around and gave me a wink as she held up a peace sign with her right hand before proclaiming, “I’ll just have to add you to my hitlist later!” and confidently marching into the dining hall. Does she not realize that only I know where my friends’ usual table is?

  I quickly caught up to Aiko and walked with her to the back of the cafeteria together to sit with everyone else. The tufts of Eiichi’s cyan hair instantly drew our attention as we rounded the corner, meanwhile he didn’t even see us walking by. Ryu, Hiro and Eiichi were too caught up in a conversation that looked incredibly heated from a distance. Aiko and I casually approached the table to see if they would notice.

  “Oh, you shut your fucking whore mouth, Eiichi.” Ryu was angrily pointing his fork at Eiichi in an accusatory fashion. “You can’t sit here and tell me-”

  I tapped my finger on the table, making all three of their heads instantly snap in my direction. “Not interrupting anything important, am I?”

  Eiichi was reclined back in his chair with his arms resting behind his head. “Not at all, Gen. Not. At. All…” His eyes drifted over to Aiko. “Ooh, who’s the lovely lady joining us today?”

  I pulled out two chairs for Aiko and I before taking a seat next to Eiichi. “Oh, right… I forgot to tell you guys. This is my-”

  “Aiko’s the name!” Once again, she was absolutely radiating pure confidence. “Don’t let my charming little self distract you boys too much,” she remarked as she flipped her hair and sat down between Ryu and I. So much for a subtle introduction, huh?

  Eiichi leaned forward, putting his elbow on the table and resting his cleft chin in the palm of his hand. “Don’t you worry, ma’am. A friend of Gen’s is a friend of ours. We’ll make sure you-”

  Everybody jolted at the sound of Ryu’s fork smacking against the table - That is, everybody except for Eiichi. “We are not finished, motherfucker.”

  Realizing I had completely forgotten to actually get any food, I set my MP3 player down on the table in the spot in front of me where a plate should’ve been. “About that… What the hell did I miss?”

  Hiro quickly chimed in. “Eiichi might’ve poked at the bear one too many times.”

  I rolled my eyes. “God, this isn’t about the sardines again, is it?” My stomach rumbled embarrassingly loudly at the thought of fish.

  “Worse.” Hiro split a pair of wooden chopsticks and slurped up a bundle of noodles from a soup that looked way too nice to come from a school cafeteria. “He told Ryu that he had no drip.”

  Ryu held his hand back and resisted the urge to hit the table again. “I dress myself just fine, thank you very much.” Ryu was gritting his teeth with so much force that he probably could’ve scratched a diamond.

  Eiichi, seemingly not getting the memo, pressed on anyway. “Doesn’t sound that hard considering you wear the same white button down shirt everyday.”

  “And I’m telling you it’s not the same one, Kido. I own several, as a matter of fact.” Ryu fiercely adjusted his collar to give his hands something to do. As he did so, I noticed a miniscule red spot on the inside of his collar. Based on the small scab on his chin that I could make out underneath a pretty shoddy layer of concealer, it must’ve been from when he was shaving the other night - But you didn’t hear that from me.

  Despite my intel, I decided to take Ryu’s side. “It’s not that big of a deal, Ryu. I’m not exactly one to talk…”

  Hiro gestured in my general direction with his chopsticks. “Now that you mention it, you wear that hoodie almost every day too. What’s up with that? It’s been getting a lot warmer out, why haven’t you ditched the jacket yet?”

  “...Not exactly where I was going with that.” I instinctively pulled down my sleeves. “I was referring to the fact that I’ve worn the same jeans for the past three days.”

  Aiko lightly shoved me and scooted her chair away from me. “Ew, that’s so icky, Genjo! I think I’m gonna be sick…” If I hadn’t learned how to tell when she was doing a bit by now, I would’ve actually believed that she was about to throw up. “Ugh, now I need to get new gloves…”

  The sounds of laughter and various playful roasts eventually drowned out the memory of whatever I was nervous about.

  In my peripheral vision, I noticed Eiichi’s gaze intently fixating itself on Aiko and I. He smiled before calmly blurting out, “...Ya know, I like you two a lot.”

  Aiko’s ear perked up like a puppy’s. Suddenly, she wasn’t laughing anymore.

  My eyes met Eiichi’s. “Hm? Who are you-”

  “I’m talking about you and Aiko, bro.” Eiichi cracked open a can of a weird brand of drink that I had never seen before, taking careful measures to make sure that the logo was facing outward for the rest of the table to see. “She’s a real keeper. I can see why you two gravitate towards each other. You know, Aiko, you’re always free to come around more often if you-”

  Eiichi’s words were muffled by the sound of chair legs scraping against the tile. Before anyone had the chance to stop her, Aiko had already stood up. “Pardon me.” She took a bow - Her entire body was shaking slightly as she stammered through her goodbyes. “I… need a moment, if that’s alright.” Aiko didn’t even wait for a split second before rushing off towards the outdoor balcony.

  Ryu threw his crumpled napkin at Eiichi, hitting him square on the temple. “Nice work, pretty boy - I was wondering how long it’d take for your ‘womanizing charm’ to blow up in your face.” He looked at his phone to check the date. “Figured it would take about a week.”

  Hiro angrily took a dollar out of his pocket and slapped it into Ryu’s hand. “Next bet, I’m not taking the over again.”

  The expression on Eiichi’s face showed genuine confusion. “Wait, it wasn’t something I said, was it?” He looked around the table at the three of us, only to be met with silence. “...Seriously, I didn’t mean to do anything like that. Come on, guys, don’t tell me you don’t believe me…”

  To be fair, there was no way that Eiichi could’ve known about her triggers. After all, Aiko hadn’t shown a single sign of reservation since the moment she strolled inside the dining hall. But at the same time, what the hell did he think was gonna happen when he said that?

  While both Hiro and Ryu were busy reprimanding Eiichi for his slip-up, I was too concerned about making sure Aiko was okay, so I snuck away from my friends once again to meet Aiko on the balcony. When I swung the door open, I felt a tailwind of cold air rushing out of the dining hall behind me. I found Aiko facing the fountain in the courtyard as she leaned over the railing. “Sup,” I muttered nervously as I leaned over the railing beside her. “Fresh air help at all?”

  “A little bit.” Aiko reached up and untied her bow, holding the unraveled ribbon in her palm. “I wanna apologize for making a scene back there. It was totally uncalled for.”

  “Hey, it wasn’t your fault, Aiko.” I briefly glanced down to make sure my arm wasn’t resting too close to hers before resuming my one-sided staring contest with the fountain. “Eiichi sorta just says what he’s thinking without any regard for whether or not anyone actually wants to hear it. You shouldn’t-”

  “I shouldn’t have been so sensitive, I know.” Aiko still had ‘gloom’ written all over her face.

  “Aiko… I was gonna say that you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.” My arms started to itch, but I fought the urge to scratch at them. “My dad always told me that ‘you’re always your own worst critic’. Probably something we should both try to remember more often, huh?”

  She was silent for a moment. “...I guess.” Aiko sounded like was trying her hardest to not outright reject my advice, but at the same time couldn’t force herself to actually take it. “I just don’t know why it made me this uncomfortable, though. It was just a stupid-”

  The wind abruptly picked up, snatching the ribbon out of Aiko’s hands. We both simultaneously yelled, “Shit!” as Aiko leapt forward to catch the ribbon without a second thought - and as I had to grab her by her wrist to stop her from plummeting to the concrete below. I yanked Aiko back to our side of the railing and caught her before either of us fell to the ground. “Oh my god, I’m starting to think you might actually be insane.”

  Aiko chuckled, scratched the side of her head with one hand, and victoriously held up the small black ribbon in the other. “Hehe… could be!”

  “Geez…” As impulsive and unpredictable as Aiko can be sometimes, at least it’s nice to see her in higher spirits again - even if she can be a bit of a handful when she is. Aiko and I went back to leaning against the railing, except neither of us really cared about how close we were standing to one another or what we were looking at. “...but for better or for worse, that’s the Aiko I’m glad I know.”

  She pretended to blush. “Aww, you’re too flattering…” Without asking, Aiko grabbed me by the hand and began tying the ribbon around my left wrist. “Hopefully this’ll keep me from jumping off any more buildings!” For some reason, I thought the hue of her cheeks became just a tiny bit redder, even through her fake blush.

  I reached my hand out over the balcony. “Not if I take a leap myself.”

  Aiko immediately pulled my hand back. “Oh, no you don’t!” She held onto it for about a half second longer before forcibly setting it against the railing like before. “...You promise they’re not upset with me?”

  “Of course they’re not upset with you.” I checked my phone for any messages from the boys - there were none - before putting it back in my pocket. “If anything, they’re probably tearing Eiichi a new one in there for what he said.”

  She clasped her hands together. “Please don’t fight over me, really. I don’t wanna come between you guys.”

  I patted her on the shoulder. “Trust me, you won’t.” Before turning around to walk back inside, I realized that she might not be ready to face them yet. “Aiko, do you want to go back to the table? It’s totally okay if you can’t. I’m sure they’ll all understand.”

  Aiko bashfully stared off into space. “...I think I’ll go back to my dorm, if that’s alright with you. It’s probably for the best that I let you guys sort this one out by yourselves.”

  “Of course, Aiko.” I saw the light in her eyes return - She didn’t want to show it, but I could tell she still felt more comfortable by her lonesome. “Sorry that today didn’t really help.”

  “Not your fault, dude.” She gave me a fist bump before heading back to her dorm. “Tomorrow’s another day, after all!” Despite the circumstances, seeing any enthusiasm - whether real or fake - was a step in the right direction. One day, I hope she no longer has to feel the need to pretend in the first place.

  When I walked back inside, the discourse at the table had become much more civil than how I had left it. I sat down, waiting for somebody to say anything. Hiro, Eiichi, and Ryu were all rapidly exchanging glances to one another. Were they trying to get somebody to break the silence so they wouldn’t have to? Fine, I guess I’ll do it myself. I opened my mouth. “So-”

  “I’m sorry, Gen…” Eiichi’s head immediately sank. His hands were pressed together apologetically. “I wasn’t thinking straight and I said some dumb shit and now your friend hates you and it’s all my fault and-”

  “Woah… Eiichi, relax.” I reassured him that everything was fine in hopes that he would pick his head back up. “You just made things a little awkward - nothing more, nothing less. I was outside with Aiko the whole time. She’s doing just fine now, so don’t beat yourself up about it, man!”

  Within seconds, Eiichi was back to normal. “Phew… Thank god.” He took a hearty swig of his probably-sponsored beverage and crushed the empty can in his hand. “All’s well that ends well. Right, guys?”

  He was met with simultaneous whacks to the head from Hiro and Ryu in a brilliant moment of tactical prowess. “Come on, man,” Ryu muttered. “Would it kill you to at least pretend that you meant it?”

  “But I do mean it!” Eiichi alternated between rubbing both of the spots on his head where he had been hit. “I’m not good at this whole apologizing thing, but I swear I’m not bullshitting you, bro!”

  I spread my arms to signal Hiro and Ryu to lay off. “Apology accepted, Eiichi. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. Aiko’s just…” I thought for a moment about how to talk about her past without revealing anything she wouldn’t want me to say. “...a lot more shy than she leads on. I wanted today to be her chance to get out of her shell a little bit.”

  Hiro sighed. “So you’re saying we managed to mess that up in less than ten minutes?”

  Ryu waved his phone in the air and pointed at the stopwatch. “Eight.”

  “The point is…” I swatted at Ryu’s phone until he put it away. “...everything is fine. I just want you guys to be a bit more considerate when Aiko’s around. She gets really uncomfortable when people talk about relationships and stuff like that, so just be careful. That’s all.”

  Eiichi snapped his fingers. “Oh, so that’s what it was! Sorry, dude. I just thought it was kinda obvious to everybody.”

  My brain suddenly short-circuited. “...you thought what was obvious?”

  “That you guys like each other?” the entire table spoke in unison.

  …Oh god, not this again. “H-huh? What are you guys talking about?” I felt my entire body heat up out of embarrassment.

  “We’re not stupid, Genjo.” I found myself at the end of Ryu’s fork of accusation. “Sneaking away from us to talk to her in private…”

  Hiro pointed a thumb towards Ryu in support. “...Suddenly introducing her to us at our lunch table without checking with us first…”

  Eiichi nodded his head in agreement. “...The way that, when she was at the table, she only talked when you talked first…”

  Ryu chimed in once again. “Just saying, maybe she got embarrassed because she was worried about people - you especially - catching on.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Guys, let’s not jump the gun here… If there’s anything I learned from high school, it’s how a girl acts when they’re trying to get their crush to notice them - mostly because it happened to everyone but me.” I slid my headphones back on, hoping it would distract them from how badly my hands were twitching. “Y’all are getting the wrong message. We’re just friends - that’s it.”

  “Whatever you say, man,” Eiichi commented while he looked down at his smartwatch. “Oops, I think my class started a few minutes ago.”

  “Wow, you seem so concerned, Mr. Kido.” Ryu stood up with a bit more urgency than Eiichi did. “Seriously, does anything get to you at all?”

  Eiichi had nothing to say that he hadn’t already revealed to us through his general demeanor. “Who knows? Maybe I enjoy being a little mysterious.”

  Hiro arose as well. “Says the man who just posted a video for his millions of followers where he did a quadruple handspring but cut off the footage right before the fourth flip.”

  “Like I said: Man of mystery…” Eiichi laughed as he walked away, with Ryu and Hiro splitting off to go to class not much later, leaving me sitting all alone with an empty stomach. I walked up to an empty line, bought a bowl of white rice, and sat back down.

  Why do people keep acting like they know me and Aiko’s relationship better than we do? The only person who would know anything at all is Ryu - but I already told him it’s nothing more than that. Has he been talking to Eiichi and Hiro about it behind my back? No… he couldn’t be. But no matter how many times I tell him otherwise, he still doesn’t believe me. I just don’t get why everybody claims to see it - except for me and her. Unless…

  …No, that’d be stupid.

  A thought emerged in my head. ‘Well, technically you don’t know that for sure.’

  …I don’t know what for sure?

  The same voice in my head spoke again. ‘You don’t know if she sees it that way or not. You’ve never asked her, have you?’

  I was starting to get really annoyed by that voice, so I decided to ignore it.

  It didn’t care - It just kept talking anyway. ‘There’s nothing stopping you, Genjo. Aren’t you curious? What’s the worst that could happen?’

  I turned up the volume on my music to drown it out.

  Somehow, that didn’t work either. ‘Go ahead. Ask her later. Wait until she texts you about making plans again. You know she will.’

  “What the hell are you talking about??” I didn’t mean to say that part out loud. I was just getting more and more frustrated by the second. “Why won’t you shut the fuck up already??”

  ‘Because… you’re curious too, aren’t you? Don’t you wanna know if she likes you ba-’

  I threw my headphones back onto my shoulders and stormed out of the dining hall.

~

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  Peaceful. Tranquil. Quiet. All perfectly suitable words that I would use to describe the lobby of the West Dorm - A safe haven from the hustle and bustle of campus at this time of day.

  …Except for today, apparently.

  I walked into the lobby, only to see a group of other students congregating around the front desk, chattering louder than I’ve ever heard a group of people talk in my entire life. The winner for the most obnoxious award was, without a doubt, the tall guy wearing a suit jacket and a black tie. He was leaning up against one of the pillars that held up the floors above like he had never learned to stand up straight without looking like a complete douchebag. I flipped my hood over my head and walked onto the elevator without a word, rapidly pushing the button to close the door as fast as I could. Somehow, the button didn’t feel like it was helping.

  The elevator let me off at my floor, so I walked out with my student ID in hand, ready to swipe it at my door the moment I got to it. But, as fate would have it, my beeline straight to the door was interrupted by someone I hadn’t seen in quite some time.

  “Good afternoon, Genjo.” Yukio was holding a folder stuffed full of papers tucked underneath his shoulder. “You seem to be a bit dreary today. Anything I can help you with?”

  I pulled my hood down to cover my face better. “Not really.”

  Yukio seemed a bit disappointed. “That’s rather unfortunate. I was hoping I could assist you in some fashion - In fact, I was just looking for you.”

  “Hm?” I slowly took my hood off. One of the papers that was sticking out of his folder had a small note on the top that read ‘Okada’. I’m not quite sure why I noticed that.

  “Oh, it’s nothing worth fretting over,” Yukio assured me as I followed him into his room. “Just some routine counseling checks. I have to do my job every once in a while, right?”

  Once again, I found myself sitting across from Yukio at the table, which had gotten considerably messier since our paths last crossed. “Is this one of those mental wellness checks?”

  Yukio gently opened his laptop and started typing at a frighteningly high speed. “No, it’s nothing like that. Although that is always an option if you ever necessitate one.” He finished typing and spun his computer around until I could see the screen - it displayed my attendance log. “I was merely curious about a minor discrepancy in your attendance on Friday.”

  “Oh?” I flinched at the mention of that day. “I don’t really remember anything out of the ordinary.”

  “Well, that’s not what my records are showing me, Genjo.” Yukio highlighted the columns labeled ‘Wednesday’ and ‘Thursday’. “Your attendance was exemplary for the first two days of the semester - Well, better than some of the students I’ve spoken to, at least. But when I took a look at the following day…”

  Yukio dragged his cursor over the spreadsheet to a column filled from top to bottom with red cells. “…You suddenly stopped going to class after your theatre class that morning, which rules out the possibility that you overslept.”

  I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket and quickly reached my hand inside to shut it off. “Uh, I was-”

  “So then, for no particular reason whatsoever, I decided to check the attendance log for one Ryu Kase.” After a few clicks on his keyboard, Yukio showed me a new spreadsheet - Every cell was red on Friday. “Quite an anomaly, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Fuck. Why do I have a feeling that he knows more than he’s leading on? “Oh, wait a minute,” I said as I lightly slapped myself on the forehead. “Ryu was feeling pretty under the weather that day, so I ended up skipping class to check up on him every once in a while.”

Yukio closed his laptop and moved it to the side. “Unfortunate. Sick enough to the point that he couldn’t get out of bed, I presume?”

  “No, it wasn’t that serious.” Even though my phone was completely off, I kept feeling the sensation of phantom vibrations. “He was able to get up and move around just fine after a few hours.”

  “Is that so?” Yukio pondered as he stood up and poured himself a glass of water. “Because I recall crossing paths with Ryu just this morning.” He closed his eyes and took a long sip of water, all the while I felt an overwhelming sense of dread. “...and he mentioned something about helping you work on a project for theatre class all day.”

  I began to shiver as what felt like invisible arms crawled out from the floor and rattled my bones. My mind became muddy and clouded. I didn’t like where this was headed.

  Yukio took another long sip of his glass. “...so which one is it, Mr. Sazama? Would you like to do me a favor and tell me what you were really up to?”

  My field of vision limited itself to Yukio’s eyes and nothing else. In this lighting, the presence of the green hue in his hazel irises was more accented. Yukio’s side-eyed stare was chilling. “...W-we were just-” My teeth chattered as I stammered my way through a pathetic version of the truth. “...t-trying to h-help a f-friend.”

  He set his glass on top of the water dispenser and slowly sat down across from me once more. “...Can you elaborate on what you mean by ‘help’, exactly?” Yukio’s furrowed brow told me that, whether he was aware of it or not, he already knew the answer.

  …So I told him everything.

  Yukio was silent for about fifty whole seconds. He was eerily silent. I didn’t dare interrupt his train of thought - I was in deep enough shit as it was. My eyes wandered around the room as I waited for Yukio to respond. I started envisioning eyes emerging and watching me from the walls, the paint peeling and falling to the ground as their eyelids opened and closed. When I looked deep into their gaze, I was met with uncanny imitations of familiar hazel oculi. No matter where I looked, they would find a way to follow and maintain eye contact.

  My attention snapped back to reality as I heard a voice from across the table. “This is all my fault, isn’t it?” When I looked at Yukio, his head had sunk into his hands. Suddenly, all of the eyes vanished into thin air - The walls were perfectly ordinary again. I heard his muffled voice once again, barely escaping his mouth through his palms. “...I should’ve known I couldn’t stop you from going back. I should’ve known better this time.”

  I couldn’t help but notice that folder again, especially the note that stuck out - ‘Okada’. Resisting the urge to reach out for the folder, I crossed my arms and held them close to my body. “Sorry for not listening to you, Mr. Ichioka. You were just trying to keep us safe.” My eyes were still fixed on ‘Okada’ - Why? “That was really selfish of me. I wanted to protect a friend, but I just ended up putting ourselves in more danger. I’m sorry.”

  Yukio finally lifted his head up. “...I wish he had said something more like that back then.”

  “He?” I asked, hoping he didn’t sense the piqued curiosity in my tone. “...You’re talking about Ryu, right?”

  “Surprised you didn’t figure it out by now. You’ve been ogling at my notes for quite some time now.” Yukio picked up the folder, pulled out the page that had been sticking out like a sore thumb all this time, and handed it to me. There was a slight tremor in his hand, making the page wobble before I took it from his grasp. Yukio took a deep breath before letting go of it. “Go ahead, Genjo.” I did as he asked, reading the page from top to bottom.

  ‘30 June: It’s been a while since I last thought about that day. After the three of us returned from our trip, I thought we had all agreed to just try and forget about the whole thing. That was, until I got a call from Okada this morning. He asked me if I was still curious about that day - Obviously, I answered, “No.” But that didn’t stop him from talking my ear off about his crackpot theories about those things. Okada kept calling them ‘phantoms’ - Not exactly the most inventive name in the pantheon of science, but who am I to stop him?

  2 July: This morning, something felt a bit off. My alarm went off exactly as scheduled, there was no warm pot of coffee sitting on the table, and there weren’t even any used granola wrappers on the floor. But that was when I noticed what was wrong - Okada must’ve left the dormitory strangely early this morning. Not that I mind - It was nice to not get woken up by his usual racket. But that does make me wonder… What reason would he have to be so quiet?

  5 July: I’m starting to worry about Okada. Something about his behavior lately seems… peculiar. Specifically, Okada told me that he’s been missing so often because he's more busy playing at the casino. He’s always had a knack for gambling - Whether that’s because of sheer luck or his uncanny ability to count cards has yet to be determined. Pretty odd thing for him to keep secret, though. Okada’s always been open with us about his gambling habits.

  10 July: Another Thursday, another night of reading random academia that Okada and Aneko leave strewn across the floor and never bother to pick up. This time: ‘Jungian Psychology for the Generally Uninformed’. While it was vastly below my reading level, it was still very informative! Psychology has always been Aneko’s area of expertise, but I’m glad I gave it a shot tonight. I noticed a weird detail, though - Aneko usually annotates her textbooks, and quite thoroughly at that, but aside from one page, it was completely bare. What was the page that was absolutely plastered in notes, you ask? I think it was… ‘Enantiodromia’. Did Aneko really write these?

  20 July: He doesn’t know I’m writing this right now, but I’ve decided to follow Okada after he leaves this morning. My body is running on zero hours of sleep and a potentially lethal dose of caffeine, but I’m tired of ignoring this. Okada claims he’s been going to gamble, but he hasn’t told me anything about his earnings or losses - not even once. Aneko doesn’t seem to find anything about that suspicious whatsoever. In fact, I also found out by pure chance last night that she doesn’t remember a single thing about… that day. Not that she’s just ‘trying to forget’... no. She couldn’t remember even if she tried.

  21 July: I fear that it’s exactly as I suspected. The “casino” he had been going to was anything but - It was an old, abandoned warehouse. According to Okada, those “phantoms” weren’t just at the amusement park - They were everywhere. The worst part? He’s been actively seeking them out. He told me he had a way to fight them off - some kind of magic he called a “facade”. How ridiculous. When I confronted him about it, I couldn’t believe the audacity of that man to just sit back and laugh it off. “Hey, I wasn’t lyin’, was I?” he said. In a way, he’s right - Going into those places on purpose can’t be described as anything other than gambling your life away.

  25 July: Okada’s condition is getting worse. His mental stability has been shakier than usual. He won’t listen to a word I say. Genuinely, I’m at a loss for what to do. He keeps going out and searching for those monsters, and I can tell it’s taking a serious toll on his well-being. When I looked through his research folders, they were chock full of notes and data on these phantoms. I’m starting to fear that he’s completely abandoned our project and is instead putting his focus entirely on this. Aneko can’t help me either - she has no idea what I’m talking about in the first place.

  28 July: It’s been days. Okada hasn’t come back in days. Our last interaction was on Friday, but I still remember it quite vividly. Okada was absolutely furious about me apparently trying to “stifle his research”. He told me that he was on the verge of a breakthrough that would fundamentally change our understanding of the paranormal and how it manifests in our world. I kept telling him that he was going to get himself killed if he kept going out there - He needed a break, otherwise the toll it was taking on his mind and his body would be too much for him to handle. Before storming out of the room, Okada shouted, “Do you know why nobody cares about your research? It’s because you’re afraid, Yukio…You’re afraid of actually taking any risks, and look where it’s gotten you, why don'tcha? Take a fucking gamble, Yukio. Until then, stop trying to hold me back.” This isn’t like him. Something’s wrong - deeply wrong. Were my last words with Okada even with the real Okada?’

  Attached at the bottom of the page was a newspaper clipping.

  ‘Missing Person: Okada Eisaku. 20 years old. Male. Asian. White hair. Blue eyes. 5’9”. 120 lbs. Last seen wearing a purple t-shirt and jeans leaving his dormitory on July 25th. Mathematics student at the Specialized School for Superior Students. If you have any information about Eisaku’s whereabouts, please contact Yukio Ichioka at (XXX) XXX-XXXX.’

  My whole body was paralyzed. The page fell out of my hands and drifted gently to the ground below my chair. There were no words to properly convey what I felt to Yukio after reading such a personal and bone-chilling story. Okada Eisaku… Merely thinking about whatever fate could’ve befell him made me nauseous.

  “I had intended to keep this a secret from you and Ryu, but I now realize that I couldn’t hide it any longer.” Yukio leaned forward and extended his hand out to reach mine. “Okada was my best friend. He was somebody that I thought would always be right by my side for decades to come, yet I let those things take him away from me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I knowingly let the same thing happen to the two of you.”

  The touch of Yukio’s hand restored my control over my physical body. I could barely choke up the words that I didn’t even feel like I deserved to say. “Mr. Ichioka, I-”

  “Genjo, don’t.” Yukio retracted his arm after hearing me speak. “You’re not a bad person for trying to help a friend, and you’re not a bad person just because you broke my trust once.” He passed me a small cup of water, which I reluctantly drank. “But I need you to promise me one thing.” Yukio stared at me intensely. “You, Ryu, and your friend have to stay as far from the phantoms as possible. I can’t - no I refuse to watch you gamble your lives away like that.”

  I felt a lump in my throat that wouldn’t go away no matter how hard I swallowed. Why do I still feel guilty even though he isn’t upset with me? Why isn’t he upset with me at all? I clenched my fists, trying as hard as I could not to dig my nails into my palms as I did so. “...I promise, Mr. Ichioka. We won’t put our lives in danger anymore.”

  Yukio looked relieved. “Genjo, you have no idea how tremendous of a weight off my shoulders this was. My mind is at ease knowing that you won’t end up on the same path that Okada wandered onto.” He stood up and stretched his arms upward. “Now, don’t let me take up your entire afternoon. Go get some rest - You’ve absolutely earned it after this past week.”

  I got up and started to put my headphones on. “Thank you. I'll just go be careful somewhere else now, if that’s cool with you.” I selected a particularly upbeat song on my MP3 player to counterbalance my mood before taking the elevator down to the lobby.

  Yukio chuckled before shooing me off and shutting the door behind me. “Not the memory lane I expected to stroll down today,” he said aloud to himself as he bent down to pick up the page off the floor below my chair. Yukio held up the page in front of him, delicately removed the newspaper clipping, and looked at the picture of Okada that he had submitted along with the missing persons report. Okada’s face was full of life - There was a spark in his eyes that Yukio wished he could’ve seen one last time. “Don’t worry about Genjo. He’s a good kid. I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you then, Okada - I hope that this can make up for it one day.”

~

  Mindless strolling while listening to music truly is an underrated pastime. Getting the chance to bask in the sunlight was also quite lovely, even though barely any of it actually reached my skin. The red hoodie, jeans, and aviator sunglasses combo didn’t seem to draw much attention or, if it did, I was too far gone in my own world to care. My body tends to have a mind of its own when I get really invested in my music - and it happens a lot more often than I’d like to admit. Whether I’m sitting, standing, or walking, I have a habit of swaying from side to side without even realizing it, no matter how inappropriate the situation might be. Fumio really likes to tease me about the way I would do tiny dance moves with my shoulders, especially during lunch and study breaks. Shit… I’m doing it right now, aren’t I?

  Not having much else to do, I decided to take a quick stop by that old auditorium. There had to be a reason my biology class got moved to Fujiwara, right? On my way there, I pulled out my phone to text somebody that I felt bad about neglecting for the past week or so.

[Text Message: Taisuke Endo]

“Sup, asshole?”

  Quite frankly, I probably should’ve thought of a less aggressive opener.

“Not much, dickwipe.”

“Just kidding, man! How the fuck have you been???”

“You really gotta text us more. Fumio and I thought you were dead for a sec”

“Yeah… my bad.”

“Or maybe the flight just took 8 days?? Ever think about that?”

“Mhm. Reminds me of when I cured Alzheimer’s.”

“Oh, you mean on the night after you saved me from the saber tooth tiger?”

“On our way to Fumio’s orphanage? Haha, obviously!”

“Speaking of… make any new friends yet?”

“A few, actually!”

“My roommate Ryu is pretty chill. Haven’t had any issues so far.”

“You can’t hear it, but I’m knocking on wood for you right now.”

“Haha, I appreciate it.”

“We met a couple other cool guys too!”

“Been hanging out with them pretty regularly actually”

“Daaaaamn!!! Look at Mr. Big Shot Celeb on campus!”

  I didn’t know how to break it to him that someone else in the group already fit that bill.

“You better stop before you start inflating my ego, Taisuke”

“Eh, sometimes you need some of that”

“Good for the soul.”

“Ya talked to any broads yet?

“No, but I have, indeed, met some women.”

“Aw, you knew what I fuckin’ meant lol”

“wait”

“YOU’VE BEEN TALKING TO CHICKS AND HAVEN’T TOLD US YET”

“I didn’t realize I was supposed to be reporting in.”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP”

“ASSHOLE”

“I’M CALLING FUMIO”

“Taisuke, the fuck are you up to now??”

  He stopped responding after that. Sounds like I need to start preparing myself for a looooong video chat later…

  Pretty decent timing on Taisuke’s part, though - I arrived at the old auditorium as soon as I got off the phone with him. Not much looked any different than it did earlier this week, other than the extremely obvious difference: The front doors were no longer boarded up. Nobody was walking in or out of it… Did anything actually change, or am I just losing my mind?

  And then I saw it - the massive engraved writing above the doorway that read ‘Byrne Center for the Performing Arts’. Has that always been there? I warily made my way up the stairs and was just about to grab the handle to the front door when…

  *bzzzzzzzzt*

I dug through my pocket for my phone and laid eyes upon the screen, hoping it was just Taisuke and Fumio blowing up my inbox.

  Oh, how wrong I was.

[Incoming Call: Chika Dokuro]

  …What the fuck? Of all the people in the world, what reason would she have to be calling me right now? I stared intently at the words on the screen, my eyes moving back and forth between the green ‘Answer Call’ and red ‘Send to Voicemail’ buttons, having absolutely no idea what to do. As my eyes glazed over, the red and green buttons started to resemble the eyes I saw coming from the walls earlier, except this time, their irises were blue. I thought you hated me. I thought I was the problem. Why the hell are you the one reaching out after all this time? What do you want me to-

  My phone automatically went to voicemail before I could make the decision for myself. Problem solved, I guess? I reached for my neck to check my pulse - My heart wasn’t just racing… it was competing for the god damn first place trophy. I spotted a bench not too far from the auditorium, so I stumbled my way over to it and sat down to take a breather. Leaning back against the back of the bench, I let loose the loudest groan I could muster. “Fucking hell…” I blurted aloud. “Why am I like this?”

  “A better question would be, ‘What do I do now?’, I think,” a voice whispered into my right ear.

  I was so startled that I nearly fell off the fucking bench. As I fell, I saw a small, blue butterfly abandon a nearby flower it had been perched on. “Holy shit.” I put my hand over my heart to make sure it hadn’t spontaneously combusted. “Did you forget how to say ‘hello’ for fuck’s sake? You almost gave me a-”

  I looked to my right, only to be greeted by the gentle breeze. “Hehe… Forgive me. Should’ve thought that one out first.” The voice now spoke into my left air, making my head quickly snap to the side to catch a glimpse of its owner - Once again… nothing. I spun around to check behind me… and achieved similar results. “Okay, okay… I’ll stop playing around.”

  “...Thanks?” While I wiped the beads of sweat forming on my forehead, I realized that I now heard the voice coming from both sides of my head. “Follow-up question: Is my brain melting right now? Yukio didn’t put any weird shit in my water, did he?”

  The disembodied voice giggled again. “Well… I’m not friends with anyone named Yukio. But if I do meet him, I’ll make sure to watch my drink at all times.” The voice was fairly androgynous, but didn’t sound like anybody I’d met before. So why did it sound familiar?

  I slid my headphones around my neck and shook my head to fix my bangs. “Heh, I was just joking, you know. Believe me, this is far from the weirdest thing that’s happened to me this week.”

  For some reason, the voice didn’t respond.

  I looked around to check one last time that no one was pranking me. “Hey, uh… Sorry if you thought I was calling you weird. Are we still cool?”

  …

  “Alright, fine.” I put my headphones back on and pressed play on my song. “Maybe I really am going crazy.”

  “Compared to a lot of people, I’d say your brain is still quite normal.”

  Oh my fucking god. “You know what? Forget it.” I stood up and started walking towards the nearest dining hall. “I’ll just go get some food, head back to my dorm, and take a nap. I’ve fucking earned one after all this bullshit.”

  The voice followed me as I walked. “...Sorry, I thought this talk would help cheer you up. But if a snack works better, at least treat yourself to something tasty… like an ice cream sandwich! Mmmm… I haven’t had one of those in a while.”

  “Hm… You know, that does sound like it might hit the spot later.” Realizing that I was still talking out loud to a voice in my head, I stopped, closed my eyes, and slapped myself on the cheek before I kept walking. “No. I need to stop letting a voice that’s coming from my own head tell me what to do.”

  “Correction: Not from your own head.” Somehow, I could tell that the voice’s true identity was sulking behind those words. “From your headphones! Common misconception.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Now I’ve really seen it all. Next thing you’ll tell me is that you’re speaking to me from ‘another reality’ or something spooky. Well, I’m not buying it.”

  “Not too far off, actually. It’s… a bit harder to explain than that.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it is.” Nakanishi-Bennett Dining Hall started coming into view through the trees. “How about you tell me something I don’t know for once?”

  The voice was silent for a bit. Eventually, it delivered its final answer. “Fun fact: She doesn’t like talking about it, but the main reason that Luna hates blackjack is because she can never remember how much the face cards are worth.”

  I instantly burst out laughing in the middle of the sidewalk. “Haha, how hard is it to remember the number ten? Daniel must totally get a kick out of-” After saying Daniel’s name, my train of thought came to a screeching halt. “Wait a second… Who am I talking to, again?”

  “Oops.” The voice got extremely quiet. “Maybe I said too much.”

  The door to the dining hall swung open as someone left, letting me slip right inside behind her. “Daniel, has this just been another one of your pranks?”

  “If I were Daniel, my answer would probably be something like, ‘as long as the sun continues to rise, the truth can wait until another day’.” The voice was doing its best Daniel impression - and that’s not a compliment. “He can be a bit of a bully, but he brings better snacks than Luna does, so I don’t mind.”

  I stepped away from the crowded lines of students waiting to get dinner, as if they were interfering with my ability to listen through my headphones. I racked my brain to try and remember where I had heard this voice before when it suddenly all clicked into place. “...is this Cleo?”

  Before I got my answer, I felt someone tap my shoulder from behind. I hurriedly threw my headphones back around my neck and spun around to face the culprit - Aiko. “Hiya! You’ve been makin’ your way around the block today, ain’tcha?” She had changed back into her normal everyday attire - A pink dress that no one else has worn since before either of our parents were born. “What’s been shakin’, bacon?”

  I anxiously ran my left hand through my hair, accidentally making it magically float in the process. Damn it, Petrov, now’s not the time. “Funny you mention that, actually. I’ve just been taking a walk around campus. Needed some fresh air, ya know?”

  “Yeah, I could tell. You were in your own little world when you walked in here, dummy.” Aiko crossed her arms and started aggressively tapping her foot on the ground. “I kept calling your name over and over and over and over… “ She reached for my neck like she was about to strangle me, but thankfully just tugged on my earlobe instead. “Genjo, I think you need to start turning your volume down. I don’t want you to lose your hearing before you turn 30.”

  “Hey, give me more credit than that - I think I’ll make it to at least 40 before that happens.” Without needing to directly exchange any words, Aiko and I made our way through the line, chatting about anything and everything that her lightning fast brain decided would be on her mind tonight. Nothing all that important, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had with small talk. “By the way, nothing else weird’s happened since… the other day, right? Just thought I’d ask.”

  Aiko tapped her finger against her cheek while staring off into space. “Not that I can think of. Unless you want to count the guy in my history class who told our professor that if he were in Napoleon’s position during the invasion of Russia, he wouldn’t’ve lost as many men.”

  “No fucking way he actually-” I choked out as I fought to keep my food from tumbling down the wrong hatch. “Sorry, forget it. That was kind of a stupid question.”

  “Hmm… I don’t think so.” Aiko lifted her teacup - which she apparently brought here from her dorm - and took a sip. “Why? Did something weird happen to you?”

  Well, aside from the fever dream I had on the way here, I can’t really think of anything. I shrugged. “Eh, not really.” Damn it, Genjo. Stop being funnier in your head than you are in public. (Although, now that I think about it, I’d never heard Cleo - if that even was them - speak before today. So where the hell else did I hear that voice?)

  Aiko squinted her eyes and stared me down. “You better not be lying to me.” As she spoke, she squinted even harder. “Because I have a built-in lie detector. You can’t hide anything from me.”

  Suddenly, we shifted gears into staring contest mode. “And what would you do if I was lying right now?”

  “Believe me, you don’t wanna find out, buster.” Aiko was not backing down.

  “Fine. I’ll tell you the truth, then.” It was time for my desperate ace in the hole. “I went back to my room after lunch and practiced confessing my undying love for someone.”

  Aiko’s stare grew even more intense. “And just who is that ‘someone’, Genjo?”

  I couldn’t hold back a smirk. “Wouldn’t you love to know?”

  “Oh, wouldn’t I?” Her smirk matched mine to a T. “Let’s hear the name, bucko.”

  I chuckled under my breath. “Professor Jennifer Clayton.”

  Aiko struggled to hold onto her composure as long as she could before eventually crumbling at the thought of how ridiculous I would look confessing to our theatre professor. “Okay, fiiiine. You win. What do I owe you?”

  “Huh?” I asked, not having an inkling of an idea about what she meant.

  “It’s exactly what it sounds like, silly.” Aiko took another sip from her teacup. “Whenever I do any sort of contest or competition, the loser always has to do something for the winner! It’s something Dad and I have done ever since I was a kid.”

  I would be lying if I said I didn’t immediately conjure up some incredibly embarrassing ideas, but I think I’ll save those for another day - or maybe another person. “What kind of favors are we talkin’ about, here?”

  “One time, I lost a watermelon eating race, and Dad made me polish all of the fancy pens in his desk drawer. And believe me, he has way more pens than you’d ever need in five lifetimes.” Aiko was oddly nostalgic and happy looking back on the memory of such a menial task. “Ooh, but another time, I beat every single one of his high scores on the dancing game at the arcade near my school, and I-” Aiko stopped for a moment. “...Okay, maybe we won’t talk about that one.” I wasn’t sure whether or not I even wanted to know how sadistic this woman is capable of being.

  “Let’s keep it simple, then.” I thought about it in my head for a good bit before eventually settling on an idea that I figured wouldn’t be all that bad. “How about… a movie night?”

  Aiko laughed. “Oh, the horror!! Come on, you can do better than that.”

  “Hey, you didn’t let me finish!” I stood up from my chair. “I expect the most authentic movie-going experience you can muster. I’m talking ‘complete dinner and a theatre with the blankets and pillows set up for the perfect ambience’ here.”

  “Oh, you’re on, asshole.” Aiko cracked her knuckles. “My blanket fort skills are going to rock your socks off.”

  I gave her a quick two-fingered salute before picking up speed and booking it out of the dining hall. “Race you there!”

  “Hey!!” Aiko quickly sprinted after me. “You know you can’t get into my room without me, right?”

  I called back to her. “Aw, you’re right! I should probably slow down and let you catch up, huh?”

  As a matter of fact, I did not do either of those things. Once I realized that I had accidentally made this into a competition, my fight-or-flight response kicked into top gear at the mere thought of what that girl would force me to do if she beat me to her dorm.