“Listen, Ariyama-kun, I'm only assigning these three to you because you know them better, so you'll know if their behavior is odd. If this changes anything…”

It did. Dammit, it did.

Ariyama wasn't prepared to confront those three. He hadn't even thought about Matsuragi or Odomura properly in weeks. And Kazura…

His chest tightened and his hands curled into fists. He realized his breath was struggling to come out, panic building in his stomach. Was he having a panic attack right now? Crap, is that what was happening?

No. Stop it. Stop. You have to move on. If you don't, you will never recover at all.

“A-Ariyama-kun?’

Matsune was looking at him with a mask of worry.

Ariyama scrunched his face up. Was that the voice in head talking to him just now? Regardless, what it was saying was true. If Ariyama remained tied down by what others thought of him, he'd never develop past that. Past anything, to be honest.

His chest was hurting, not just from having to face his friends again, but now also from everything else. It was as if all it took was a spark to ignite the pain inside him.

Gritting his teeth, Ariyama forced himself to look Matsune in the eyes.

“I can do it.”

“Are you sure? Because I'm not blond, and I can see–”

“If I said I can do it, I can do it, you understand?”

Ariyama didn't mean to spit his words so nastily, but then again, he wasn't in the best of moods right now.

Matsune squared her shoulders, also seemingly reeling from Ariyama having to do this job. It was also irritating, seeing just how caring she was, how sweet and how sympathetic.

Why did Ariyama feel this way? Was it just feeling insecure about his own abilities? If he was in her position, he probably wouldn't do as good a job as she was.

“OK, Ariyama-kun. I don't know if you believe me but I trust you, OK? I trust in your ability to do this.”

She nodded at him enthusiastically, trying to put some motivation in him. At that point in time, it sure wasn't working. But it wasn't her fault.

Ariyama nodded in response, unsure of how else to respond. He tried to find the right words to use.

“So… Do I start right away.”

Getting back to business, Matsune put her phone away, pushing away from the wall and going to the door.

“Yes, please. I have my own list of students to investigate, so we'll both be busy for the rest of today. As I said, take all the time you need, just please meet back with me here once school finishes, so we can accumulate whatever knowledge we've found. Good luck, Ariyama-kun.”

She gave him a smile that seemed a bit forced, before turning her back to him and exiting the room. A moment later, Ariyama left too.

So that was that.

Ariyama watched as Matsune disappeared down one end of the hallway, her retreating footsteps rebounding across the hallway.

That was definitely that.

The beating of his heart pounding against his chest, Ariyama turned to face the opposite end of the hallway. The school was fairly big, and he never was in this area of the academy, but as far as he could remember, the way he was facing led to the basketball courts and the racetrack.

Checking the time, Ariyama noticed classes were still in session. So, now it was time for the tough part: deciding who to tail first.

First who was out of the question was Kazura, definitely. She was his best friend, and there was no way he was ready to confront her. Not yet. If there was anyone who'd blame him for letting Yaranagi die, it would be her. They were the original trio, after all. All three of them had been friends since they were five years old.

Just thinking about how long he'd known Yaranagi made the fact he wasn't there anymore hurt so much more.

Dammit, was he ever gonna get over it?

Think about this realistically, it had only been a month since it happened. Ariyama was trying to stop the hurt, but maybe that was his problem.

There was no way people could get over something that traumatic in four weeks, right? Right?

Ariyama chewed his lip as he pondered his next course of action

For now, he just wanted to focus on his first mission and nothing else. Nothing that would distract him.

So, Kazura was out of the question for now, so who, then?

Matsuragi? Ariyama knew him the least, so maybe.

Odomura? It depended. Ariyama didn’t doubt that Odomura Airi would be the most comforting person to talk to after all this. He thought back to the time she had accompanied him while he began his walk back home after school, and those words of wisdom she had spouted.

“If it won't physically harm them in any way, why bother thinking about them and what they think? Just focus on yourself, because if you don't care for yourself, who will? It's your life, not anyone else's.”

Those words had hit hard back then, but now they felt different. Because what Ariyama did had caused physical harm. Worse. It had led to the deaths of four innocent – somewhat innocent, in Jack and Yasami's cases – students.

Could he really just ‘focus on himself’ after what he did? Even with Odomura's inspiring words, he couldn't shake the guilt from his conscience.

“Well, maybe…”

Ariyama murmured to himself as he tapped the side of his leg in thought.

If there was anyone who Ariyama could manage to deal with, it was probably her. She'd understand. She'd be sympathetic and kind to him. Kazura was an anomaly, and Matsuragi would probably be cold and calculating.

So Odomura would be the best choice.

OK, so that was the way to go, then.

Thinking about what class she would've been at that time, Ariyama began his trek towards the corridor where he'd have the most likely chance to run into her.

His footsteps echoing through the hallways, the emptiness of those hallways; it all made Ariyama anxious beyond belief. He couldn't help the shaking in his shoulders.

He watched out for anyone walking back from the bathroom or any of the staff, but luckily made his way to the hallway outside Odomura's classroom. Leaning his back against the wall, he rolled his neck in circles, worry climbing up his throat.

He must have waited there for nearly twenty minutes, until the bell finally rang, and moments later, the door opened and the students filed out. Among them was Odomura Airi, her pink hair tied back in a braid as usual, her glasses perched perfectly on her cute nose.

The experience of seeing her so off in the distance, feeling like he was a stranger to her, made Ariyama's stomach twist. Still, he tried to remain focused.

If he did this, all of this, then he'd be helping Matsune greatly. If he helped her, even in a small way, that'd at least make him feel a bit better about himself.

It would stave away the bad thoughts, at least for a moment. Keeping himself hidden by half-hiding behind the door leading to one of the printer rooms, Ariyama surveyed Odomura. She seemed… sad.

She was walking alone, which simultaneously filled Ariyama's heart with sorrow and relief. Sorrow due to the fact he hated seeing her upset, when she was so kind to him in the past. But also relief because this meant there was no one around her, so spying on her would be a lot smoother experience.

And so, Ariyama went on to spend the next few hours trailing Odomura.

Over the course of the day, Ariyama watched Odomura heading to classes, eating lunch, and talking with her friends – which she had quite a few of – including her closest ones, Kazura and Matsuragi.

Seeing Kazura just out of reach ached Ariyama to no end. Dammit, he hated feeling this miserable, but what was he to do? He had to follow them around for the day to track them and ensure there were no oddities in their behavior. For Kazura – whenever Ariyama got around to her – it would be easy, but perhaps Matsune put a bit too much faith in him in the cases of Matsuragi and Odomura. Sure, they were his good friends, but it wasn't like he saw them outside of school often or anything.

Anyways, Ariyama knew she was just being thorough, but he still couldn't believe Matsune was suspecting one of those three to be her mysterious unregistered Tribute.

It was mean to say, but Ariyama could've seem a scenario where the calculative Matsuragi ended up being their suspect – which would end quite funnily, Ariyama imagined, with Matsuragi getting beat up by the girl he had a major crush on – but he wouldn't wrap his head around Kazura or Odomura being the criminal. Was criminal even the right word?

While Matsune was always so kind and extraverted towards everyone, Odomura was always so gentle and nurturing to everyone, as if she was a more introverted version of Matsune.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

She was too nice to be the convict.

And as for Kazura, her goofy yet fiery attitude made her definitely not as nice, but she was still one of the most popular girls in the year. Her looks and her tomboyish attitude was the way to go for guys who weren't interested in Matsune's more traditional ‘feminine’ approach.

And of course, the main reason was that she was his childhood friend and one of the people he trusted the most.

Shaking his head, Ariyama focused back on the current scene.

It was their second lunch break, and Odomura was in the cafeteria, sitting at a table with a tray of food, next to Matsuragi and Kazura.

It was good that the three seemed to still be close. As Ariyama thought back to the times when the four of them had been closer than ever – meeting and chatting with each other every day at school – he half-noticed Odomura standing up with a now empty tray, heading to the garbage.

But man, those days were the best. Ariyama was only now not taking them for granted, and actually appreciating them as the fond memories they were. He couldn't help but smile a little as he reminisced. He realized that was the first time he could remember actually smiling genuinely for the past few weeks. It felt nice, to be able to banish those depressing thoughts, even just for a moment.

“Ariyama-kun?”

The voice that he heard was quiet, soft and filled with unwithheld disbelief.

His face was already pale before he turned around, already drained of blood before he turned around and saw Odomura Airi staring at him, her eyes wide behind her glasses, tray still in her hands and ready to be tossed into the garbage bin he was standing right next to.

Well, crap.

With her hands shaking slightly, Odomura placed the tray on the tabletop beside the bin and took a step forward.

“W-when did you get back?”

Her voice was soft, trying to not break, but Ariyama saw the shine of tears brimming in the corners of her eyes.

He raised his hands slowly to make some distance between them.

“OK, listen to me, Airi. I need you to be quiet, OK–?”

“OH MY GOSH, I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!”

Odomura leapt forward, her face contorting with emotion, her arms wrapping around Ariyama's neck.

Ariyama was momentarily stunned, and could only let out a breathless grunt as Odomura's weight crashed into him.

Instinctively, his hands wrapped around her waist to stop her from squirming too much. As she wailed into his shoulder, Ariyama was already turning his head to glance at the table she was just sitting at. Her crying was luckily not too loud, so it didn't attract the attention of the whole room. But on the other hand, it did make Matsuragi and Kazura stir from their place sitting at that table.

They both looked slightly startled, glancing at each other first, then losing over to the garbage bin.

Cursing under his breath, Ariyama stumbled back behind the nearby pillar, pulling Odomura with him. He pushed her against the pillar by her chest, then peeked behind it.

Kazura was looking at Matsuragi again, shrugging, then they both returned to their food.

Oh, thank God.

“U-um, Ariyama-kun?”

Frowning at the flustered voice, Ariyama looked back to Odomura, who was still pushed against the pillar by him.

Oh, she was probably wanting him to let go, which was fair enough–

Oh.

He was pressing her against the wall, with the little added detail that his hands were pressed firmly against her breasts.

Odomura was blushing profusely, looking like a tomato, and Ariyama stuttered his words out. He hopped back, removing his hands and impulsively wiped them against his shirt.

As if that'd do anything

“Oh, um… sorry, Airi.”

Odomura shook her head quickly, still as red as a cherry. She seemed to get her breathing back to normal, fixing her posture and looking back up at Ariyama. Her eyes were still puffy from her recently-shed tears, but her quivering lip had been replaced with a smile of relief.

“But Ariyama, when did you get back? I… We were all so worried about you, when we were told what happened in the accident”

Oh, that's right. That night and the supernatural events had been covered up by saying it was an unnatural sinkhole that had killed the four students of Sasura Academy. Ariyama was curious as to who had done the coverup.

He thought, personally, that it was Matsune, who probably contacted those in power at the Pilgrims’ Society to help. It probably hadn't boded well for her reputation, to have been involved in an attack with monsters she was probably trained to fight, and end with the deaths of four people.

But Ariyama wasn't an idiot; he knew there was probably some rule against letting information about Tributes or anything magic-related get out. The whole system of the Pilgrims’ Society seemed to have been around for ages, so that was probably why they were able to stay discreet this whole time.

“Ariyama-kun?”

Ariyama snapped back to attention, looking down at Odomura again.

“Oh, um, what were you saying?”

“I was asking where you've been! We were all so worried, but I'm so glad you're OK.”

She took his hand in hers and smiled sweetly.

“Yeah, I'm… glad to be back…”

Dammit, was that the right thing to say? Did Odomura think Ariyama was back for good now?

He cleared his throat, and tried to remove his hand from hers as nonchalantly as possible.

He still had to survey her for the rest of the day, even if he didn't think she was the culprit. It was what Matsune told him to do after all.

“Listen, Odomura, I know I was away for a while, and I'm sure you want to tell the others I'm back, yeah?”

Odomura tilted her head, blinking in confusion.

“I… suppose I was going to do that, yes.”

“Alright, well, could you hold off on doing that?”

“What? Why?”

Ariyama shifted uncomfortably, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his blazer.

“I'm just… not ready to confront them yet, you know? I want to talk to them myself, without them knowing I'm just strolling around the school, acting like I don't know them. I want to let them know I'm OK, but just in my own time, when I'm ready. Is… that OK?”

Odomura nodded as she listened to his explanation. Once he was done with it, she just smiled again.

“Of course. I can tell you really want to do it yourself. You've never been very good at accepting help from others, have you? But that's OK. I believe in you.”

Her face fell a slight bit.

“But, Ariyama-kun, if you ever need to talk to someone, you know I'm here, OK? I know we've only really had a personal conversation like this when we were walking home together that one day, but I hope you know you can rely on me.”

Ariyama's heart twisted slightly. Wow, those were some kind words.

He didn't really know what to do with his hands anymore, so he took one out of his pocket and placed it on Odomura's shoulder.

“Thank you, Airi.”

She nodded, then another smile broke out.

“And I see you've remembered to call me Airi.”

“Yeah, well, it's still weird to call you that when you're still calling me Ariyama, but that's just how it is.”

“And there's no need for it to be any different. So, I think that's everything. Good luck, Ariyama-kun.”

He stepped into him and wrapped him in a weak but meaningful hug.

Ariyama breathed in the scent of her strawberry shampoo, which paired well with the hue of her pink hair.

As he pulled away, he gave her a wry smile. It didn't feel good lying to her. Especially since she was just so nice to him.

But it was either that or compromise the whole mission, and Ariyama didn't want Matsune getting into trouble with the Pilgrims’ Society because of him, so it was obvious what his choice was.

“Good luck as well.”

Ariyama spoke softly, trying to hide the quake in his voice. Odo fortunately just nodded at him one last time before heading back to the table where Kazura and Matsuragi sat.

Once the pink-haired girl was out of earshot, Ariyama let out an audible sigh, leaning back against the pillar.

That didn't go as planned.

But due to Odomura's sincerity, he dodged a bullet and got off Scot free, even when he really shouldn't have.

Now, it was time to continue.

He knew it was going to be difficult, especially now that Odomura knew of his existence. He’d just have to be extra cautious for the rest of the day.

And that's just what he did.

For the rest of the school day, Ariyama continued on with the same practices, only with an additional helping of caution. He watched Odomura – as intently as he could – when she walked to class, or went to the bathroom, or headed to the cafeteria for their second lunch break.

Really, he was just admiring her from a distance, as opposed to properly surveying her for any behavioral errors. He genuinely didn't think it was her, and he didn't intend for Matsune to change his mind.

Hell, he'd even managed to pull off a feeble mana detection while on the fly.

Instead, if he'd been cross-legged and concentrating harder, he would hopefully be able to interact with vibrant and visible blue sparks, among the mist of red like it's spraying blood.

But when he activated it manually while on the go, the thick mist left more like a red-ish vapor surrounding him, with dim blue lights all around. It wasn't nearly as saturated, but there was definitely progress to be seen there.

And sure enough, using this lesser version of his mana detection on objects Odomura had touched, or spaces she had gone to, came up with nothing.

So that was it.

Odomura Airi wasn't the unregistered Tribute.

Of course, Ariyama didn't actually ever think it was her, but he still felt oddly relieved when he confirmed his beliefs. It was almost as if there had been a small space in the back of his mind where he did think of the possibility of it being her.

No, no, that couldn't be true.

Wincing in annoyance at his own thoughts, Ariyama decided to just wait till the end of the day, when he'd rendezvous with Matsune and discuss their findings.

At first, Ariyama thought he'd be a much bigger help in Matsune's investigation. But as it turned out, he only confirmed the innocence of one student. One student, out of hundreds.

Then again, he supposed that Matsune didn't expect him to make great progress so quickly. It was his first day, after all.

And it was Odomura, Masturagi and Kazura, for crying out loud.

Ariyama wasn't sure who Matsune had close connections with in the school, if any, but they both knew that those three were people he cared about.

Kazura was his friend for so many years, and while he hadn't known Matsuragi or Odomura until he graduated to Sasura highschool, he cares about them too.

Odomura was so nurturing and sweet, and even the sound of her voice made his heart flutter with adoration. And he found Matsuragi's no-nonsense yet easily-flustered personality endearing.

All in all, he reckoned that investigating just one of those three equaled the determination required for twenty random students who you may have seen in the hallway once, at most.

Was that true, though? Or was that just Ariyama trying to justify his feelings. Maybe he really was being too naive in all this.

After all, since his friends had died, he felt off about himself, even at random moments in the day, when he was alone with his thoughts.

As the day ended, Ariyama watched from behind one of the white pillars of the academy – in the least-creepy way he could manage – as Odomura left the building for the day. He bit his lip with regret as he watched Odomura leave through the shimmering iron gates alone.

But hadn't she said before that he often had club practice right after school, which was why they had only walked home together – at least halfway there – only once?

So, either club practice was canceled again, which was unlikely, or something was up.

Ariyama suddenly raced with panic.

Shit, did she somehow find out about what was going on? Maybe she already knew beforehand?

It wasn't a requirement to have an Enchanted Tool to be well-versed in the world of the Pilgrims, was it?

Crap. Was it possible for a regular human to know about the secret world? Sure, maybe Odomura wasn't the unregistered Tribute herself, but maybe she was in league with them? Maybe working as their confidant? Their inside woman?

Wait, wait. Stop. Where was all this coming from?

Ariyama was already chastising the internal part of him who believed Odomura could've been the culprit, and now he was letting those thoughts actively take over his brain?

He wanted to smack himself, more than anything.

But before he could inflict any self-harm upon his person, he felt a slight hand touching his shoulder.

The contact nearly made him jump out of his skin, but instead he turned around as Matsune Sasya smiled up at him.

“I hope you've done your part in all this. So, shall we debrief, Ariyama-kun?”