Arriving at a distant star which long refused to shine,

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I had a dream. I couldn’t quite decode its meaning. Seeking for adventure, I found myself staring at seven oddly-colored roses in a glass. I looked at the roses intently, each bearing a different color combination. Among the roses, a phantasmagoric blossom appeared…

 

My eyes quickly opened. The only thing that greeted me was the starless night sky. The only thing up there was the full moon. I blinked, unable to remember what happened. So where exactly am I? Brushing off the specks of dust from my shirt, I sat upright and clutched my head in pain. My eyesight adjusted to the surroundings, a bit hazy from being unconscious for a while. “I feel diz—”

My statement was cut off when I heard a piano. I looked up again; trying to decipher the sound of the sweet melody. It sounded as if the pianist was fragile and melancholic. Sometimes, you just know what kind of person a pianist is by listening to the pieces he or she plays. “…That’s odd.” I mumbled before standing up. I listened carefully to figure out where the sound was coming from and I could’ve sworn it came from… that forest? Since when did a forest get here? A forest on-campus? Wait a second… this is a school?

I am in a school I don’t know. How nice.

I followed the sound to the forest, unsure whether I’m going the right way. “How did a piano get here, anyway?” I complained.

 

"…The real question is, how did you get here?”

 

At the sound of that random voice, I jumped back in surprise. What greeted me was a familiar young girl with long curly dark brown hair. The curls on her hair were bleached with blonde. She wore black eyeglasses like mine. Oh, right… where are my glasses? 

 

Great. Now I lost them.

 

"Honestly, I didn’t think you’d suddenly appear here. You of all people, too.” She sounded like she was complaining about my presence. She was hiding carefully behind the bushes like a stalker and it was creeping me out. “Um… hi, Ela. So, umm, where are we?” I tried to be subtle in asking her as if it was normal for us to be here, since I know that this girl right in front of me right now…

 

Disappeared three months ago.

 

 

 

That’s not the worst part. When I noticed that they — the rest of Ela’s friends — were disappearing one-by-one, the whole world just acted as if they didn’t exist. As if they completely forgot about them. Their families were also acting that way. I was about to ask her about their disappearances when I noticed that she was staring at me with wide eyes. The piano music continued on. “… H-hi…” She started shaking as if she had seen a ghost. “… This world is called The Painting.”

Huh? The Painting? Not only does it lack originality, but what kind of school is called The Painting? Why is Ela even here? For the love of peace, why is there a piano in the middle of the forest? Well, not that I’ve actually seen it but of course I can hear it. 

"The fact that you’re here means you saw something weird in that painting." She kept on talking nonsense and I guess she disappeared probably because she was sent to a mental institute and all that. "You’re not in the real world. You are inside a painting. The Painting. Sounds lame, huh? We couldn’t think of a better name.” Okay, I swear she’s really weird. She was one of my close friends when I was in 3rd grade, but she wasn’t this weird before. What painting is she talking about, anyway? Does she mean that painting I was staring at before I fa—

That’s right… I fainted… and I only realized it now. Now I remember! I was staring at this painting in the art gallery then I just, yeah, fainted. Why did I faint, though?

Ela pointed to a distance from in front of her. I lazily crawled towards her and took a peek at what she was hiding from. Just a few meters away from us was another girl. She was petite and a bit short. She had short black hair and it curled at the ends. She wore purple eyeglasses. Wow, eyeglasses are too mainstream now. The weirdest part was that her hands were just dancing on the reddish-white piano keys… in the air. There was no piano. 

Holy crap. The piano keys were flying around her!

My mouth hung agape at the sight in front of me. I was about to scream when a hand quickly covered my mouth. “Don’t freak out! Are you crazy? You’ll destroy her performance! She will kill you! She’s the artist who made that painting! Her name is Ery.” Ela whispered. I took her hand away from my mouth and gasped for air. I quickly stood up and pointed at her. “I see! You’re just trying to trick me but you really want to kidnap me and make me disappear like the rest of you! Prove to me that I should believe you! I’m dreaming, aren’t I? Hit me on the head!” I yelled. She face-palmed. “… Idiot.”

I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head before blacking out.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————-

"You hit him on the head!?" 

"I told him to keep calm but he just… burst."

"Of course I hit him! He asked for it!"

"Um… so why did you bring him here?"

"WHY ARE YOU ALL IN MY ROOM!?"

 

Too loud. Aren’t they going to let me re— where the hell am I?

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. There was one familiar guy with short black hair. Really short. He was surrounded by four other girls. “Oh, he’s awake.” I recognized the voice as Ela’s. I just raised an eyebrow. “I finally woke up from that crazy piano dream but why are you still here?” I asked impatiently. The girl beside Ela balled up her right hand into a fist. She had straight re-bonded hair that came across her shoulders with red highlights and full bangs that covered her forehead. If you ask me, she looks like a delinquent. “Give him a break; he just got hit on the head… with a rock… by Ery.” The only boy in their group, whom I recognized as one of my former classmates last year, scolded. I was unable to prevent myself from screaming. “I got hit on the head?” I repeated.

It took me a while to realize that the people right in front of me were the same people who disappeared some months ago. I felt my heart pound against my chest. If they disappeared and I’m with them right now… does that mean I disappeared, too? Wait, no way. That’s just really scary. “Yeah. I hit you. You asked for it.” The piano girl called Ery had a really tiny voice that caught my attention. Wait a minute… why’s she here? That was a dream, right? 

The only boy in the group, Dylan, sighed. “You weren’t dreaming…” He told me. I quickly stood up from the bed and backed away from them. “Why should I believe people who suddenly popped out of nowhere after disappearing? You guys are creepy!” I yelled. They all just looked at one another before fixing their glasses. THEY’RE ALL WEARING GLASSES!

To make matters worse, the door just burst open. In came three odd men. One looked like a prince and seemed act like one. He had neat pale blonde hair and cat-like midnight blue eyes. The next one had indefinite dark hair that had flyaways at the back of his neck and autumn-like eyes. The third one had dark brown hair and honey eyes. They all looked like anime boys. Or cosplayers. Or Korean band members. Okay, fine, I admit. They’re all good-looking. It just sounds weird coming from me since I’m a guy and I have a manly pride to take care of. Rule number 1, guys don’t tell other guys that they’re good-looking. Especially if they have just met.

"Oh, looks like sleepyhead’s awake." Blondie commented. What’s up with him? He really is acting like a prince. "Hn." Honey Eyes looked like he was annoyed by everything around him. That’s not a good impression. "Can we keep him?" Meanwhile, Autumn Boy sounded like he was an idiot. "He’s not a dog." Blondie said once again. Can someone please tell me who the heck they are and what’s going on?

The fourth girl stepped forward. She had long straight hair with an orange hue. She was tall and had a lovely sun-kissed complexion. She was also from my school but she never became my classmate. Her name is Ren. It’s actually surprising how their group of friends disappeared one-by-one. There are more of them who went missing, but it seems there are only eight people right in front of me currently. I wonder where the others are. “So you want to get out of here?” Ren asked me, a bit timidly. “Yes.” I answered. 

 

 

"You want to wake up from this dream?"

"Yes."

"To be real again?"

"Yes."

"To be forgotten?"

"Ye— HUH?"

 

"He’s an idiot." The piano girl sighed. "You obviously have no idea. Nobody remembers us in the real world anymore." Dylan remarked. "Try going back and telling them your name. They’ll just think that it’s a new breed of platypus or something." Ren’s smile was completely innocent although what she said was the opposite of innocence. I started flailing my arms. "Just what are you saying? I’m not a platypus! Why a platypus?" I panicked. "You are inside that last painting you saw, moron. This is a hidden world inside that painting I made while I was still in the real world. It’s called The Painting. I made it so I could escape from the trauma of the real world. Whoever enters it gets erased from the real world.” Ery explained with a bit of annoyance in her small voice. I am still unconvinced. What if they’re a secret organization trying to experiment on live humans and mess with our psyche? Yep, that’s about it. I have a very accurate deduction. I backed away quickly. “Then that means you’re a witch!” I accused. Instead of being offended, Ery grabbed a book on the table and threw it…

 

At my face.

 

“I just painted. Is painting a crime? I didn’t know how and why a world like this suddenly appeared, you know. But my best guess is, hmm… it’s probably because half the world’s population is actually suffering from regrets and burdens right now that made this world come true. I only triggered the wish, but I’m just a normal girl in the real world. Either God wanted to make us realize something or maybe He just granted the world’s wish. Who knows?” Her answer sounded a bit too complex for me to understand. She’s making it seem like God has plans for—wait, what am I talking about? I can’t be fooled by them!

For some reason, an umbrella was being pointed at me. It was Miss Delinquent. “The name’s Kisa. Now off you go. Become a platypus and fly away.” She shooed me away by waving the umbrella. “Platypus can’t fly!” Autumn Eyes interrupted. “So how about becoming a bat or a raven?” Blondie suggested. My right eye twitched. I’m surrounded by idiots. Come to think of it, the word ‘idiot’ is being used quite a lot today. Welcome to the teenage world.

Honey Eyes snapped his fingers. 

"Good idea. Bats are black."

"Um… bats are vampires in disguise."

"So bats are secretly white?"

"White bats? Ery, please tell these two to stop being delusional."

"YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!"

"Wait… so he can’t be a bat if bats are white."

"Why not?"

"Because his complexion is—"

"YOU GUYS ARE SO RACIST! Who cares if it’s white or black, it’s still a BAT!"

I covered my ears and sighed. Do they do this everyday? Do they even argue about complexion and stuff everyday? Even those weird K-pop guys act weird! I’m going home… well; I don’t want to be called a flying platypus or anything, though. “Anyways, you! Let’s get this straight. You’re staying here for a while.” Ery pointed at me. I opened my mouth to say something when they all suddenly walked toward me. “We can’t risk your life. We have no idea what will happen when someone leaves this world. Be thankful we’re still concerned about you.” Dylan never changed. He’s still that… Dylan. 

I sighed, not knowing whether I should believe them or not. They were all staring me down and I don’t know what to do. “Unless you want Ery to hit you on the head with a chair to wake you up, we don’t mind.” Miss Deli— Kisa remarked. Ela nodded in agreement. Seriously, are they blackmailing me to join their dark forces against the real world or are they trying to kill me? 

"… It’s not like I have a choice." I gave in. They all smiled and high-fived one another. Why do I feel like I’ve been tricked? Ren held out her hand for a handshake. I reached out awkwardly and shook it. "My name is Ren. That girl over there with Korean-like hair is Kisa and the one you saw last night was Ery and Ela. The short guy’s Dylan. Those three other guys over there are people you’ve only met just now so you don’t really have any connection with them. There are other people like you and them in our world who came here for the same reason — tragic pasts. There are lots of us, but we’re the only ones here at the moment. I’m telling you this just in case you don’t remember. You came from the real world, after all. Nobody in that world remembers—"

 "No, Ren. That’s the reason why I let him stay. He remembers us."

Everyone suddenly looked at me again. Silence enveloped the room. Ery cleared her throat before grabbing my wrist. “… Dylan, Ren, Kisa, and Ela. Let’s go to the rooftop.”

———————————————————————————————————————————————————-

We’ve been going on and on about this The Painting thing for hours and now what’s next? Here we are on the rooftop. All five of them were standing in front of me. The wind was blowing against their faces and their hair danced with it. Umm… Dylan’s hair is an exemption. “This world was especially made for me and my friends. It is a world where you can escape the harsh world outside. People who come here can live here as they used to live in the real world… except for us.” Ela was the first to talk. “Normally, the people who come here don’t know us. But only we remember each other. Why do you think that is?” Ery asked. I rubbed the back of my head, unable to decipher what they’re trying to tell me. 

"It’s because of our memories."

A cold wind blew on my shoulder and I felt a chill run down my spine. “The Painting is my work. It is a portrait of seven dual-colored roses in a bouquet. Those roses represent our memories and this world is made out of the memories we gathered. Especially the painful ones. Each rose represents one of my friends. And each friend bestowed a memory upon their own roses. I didn’t make this world alone. Our memories made this world.” Ery continued. She held out her hands in front of her and a red light glowed in between. I took a step back. Here we go again with the creepy magic.

A glowing rose appeared in her hands. The rose was no ordinary one. It was white with bloody red tips. “This is my rose. My memories are the ones who colored it this way. It’s the same for them.” She turned to look at her companions. Ela had a baby blue rose with white tips. Ren’s was aquamarine blue and had light pink tips. Dylan’s rose had a purple and black dual color. Kisa’s rose was black and also had bloody red tips. I have no idea how these represent their memories but something tells me that these roses are the only things that make them remember one another.

Everything. Including the bad memories that kept them in this place. 

"You remembered us. You must have a rose, too." Ela hopefully said. The roses disappeared from their hands and back into their souls. "That’s impossible. Ery only painted seven. There’s nothing else." Kisa was still obviously wary of me. I sighed and held out my two hands in front of me. "Ela once told me… that only the people who see something different in the painting besides the seven roses are transported into your world. What I saw in that painting weren’t just seven roses… there were eight." I finally told them. My hands started glowing as soon as I finished my statement.

They all stayed silent. 

And silent.

And—

"HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN!?"

"He has a rainbow rose. A RAINBOW ROSE!”

"OH MY GO— A DOUBLE RAINBOW RIGHT ACROSS THE—"

"That’s not a double rainbow!"

“Double rainbows exist?”

And here we go again. Seriously, can’t they get any weirder?

When things are finally under control again, I decided to speak up. “I decided not to leave.” I successfully caught their attention for the first time. I cleared my throat and felt my face going red after realizing I didn’t like it when they stare at me like that. “Until I figure out why I have a rose… a multi-colored rose, I’m not leaving. You say roses represent memories, right? So I’m going to find out what memory made mine this way.”

Ery smiled. The rest nodded to one another. Ery went near me and reached out her hand. “If I’m correct, then you must be Dylan and Ela’s friend. Your name?”

 

 

"My name is Kazuki.”

 

2: 02 Memory

 

 

 

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"So do you guys get sick here? Do you die? Do you even go to your classes? Who made this school?" I asked repeatedly. Then I realized that they're all asleep. On the carpet. In the theater room. Of the school. I sighed heavily as I stared at the cinematic screen. This school is way better than the ones in the outside world. No wonder they didn't want to leave this world. I stood up from my seat quietly and skidded out the theater room. The empty halls greeted me. Of course the other students are also taking their own classes. I walked past each classroom and noticed that the students all have the same face. I'm not joking! Only the Rose people, the other people who disappeared from the real world and the three peculiar dudes looked different. Having a twin is scary enough, but having thousands of you? No thanks. I choose self-worth.

 

I stopped in front of a large door at the end of the corridor just beside the principal's office. I wonder what room this is. It's oddly placed here of all places. And who even goes here?

 

"Oh, it's you." A calm and deep voice startled me. I flinched and turned my head to the left. Right in front of me was Blondie. I still don't know his name. The weirdest part about him is that he wasn’t wearing the standard school uniform. "I believe we don't know each other's names yet." He chuckled lightly and I fought the urge to run away. His gentle smile is creepy.  "Ah, hello." I answered awkwardly. Damn, this dude is taller than me. "My name is Yue." He told me. I see. Another Japanese name. "Mine's Kazuki. Are you Japanese?" I asked him. If the people here have all different nationalities, why does it seem like we're all speaking one language?

 

Yue shook his head. "I believe there is no such thing as a blonde Japanese." He pointed out. Damn, he just humiliated me, didn't he? He was still smiling, though. "Nevertheless, this world was designed to be one where we can all understand each other. That is why no matter what language we speak, we are still able to talk and understand one another." He spoke calmly. This guy knows a lot. How long has it been since he came here? All I know was that The Painting was transferred to a famous art gallery back in the real world. It’s no wondering even foreigners saw it.

 

I'm not Japanese, though. Just saying.

 

"Um, what is this door for?" I quickly tried to break the tension in the air. He looked at the door and smiled. "Why don't we go inside?" He turned the doorknob and the next thing I saw was a colorful light gushing out of the room.

 

Paintings. Paintings everywhere. And surprisingly, the people inside don't have just one face. "Did Ery really make this world? Including these artists?" I stared at all the works of art in awe. "If you have noticed, most of the students here look identical. Those people are not real. They are merely paintings which have come to life. They were all born here in this room, painted by the artists. The artists are real, though." Yue explained. The artists took notice of him and stopped whatever they were doing. Wow, Yue gains a lot of respect from them.

 

"Yue? What are you doing here?" A small voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked to the direction of the voice and saw a young girl with black hair tied into a ponytail. A very messy ponytail. Her bangs look like they haven't been combed for years. I couldn't see her face without my eyeglasses so I went near. She was wearing a furry jacket over her uniform, too. It felt like my whole soul got sucked out from my body when I figured out who she was. "Kazuki, this is Hirari. She's the main artist here next to Ery in rank." Yue told me. I jumped back and just pointed at her. She was one of the people from my school who disappeared without leaving any memory behind! Yue laughed at my reaction. In return, Hirari glared dangerously at him. "Yue, you may be the principal, but I still hate you." Huh? PRINCIPAL?

 

"He's the WHAT!?" I yelled. He doesn't even look like one! Pretty boys like this creepy bastard can't be a principal! It's not canon! I am not accepting this. "You didn't know?" Hirari was gawking at me while Yue sighed in dismay. I'm with two awkward people. I'm awkward, too. Awkward day is awkward. I started panicking, not knowing what to say next when the door burst open. "Kazu! You'll be participating in a little battle today!" Oh, isn't that Autumn Eyes? And just who gave him the permission to call me 'Kazu'?  Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if I'm an idiot or they are. "Battle?" Yue's face turned serious. Hirari looked tense. Don't tell me they're going to involve me in one of their--

 

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They were carrying their roses. Who in their right mind would use a rose as a weapon?

 

I just watched them as they stared at the ceiling. The ceiling, for sanity's sake. They all had game faces on. "Exactly what are we fighting against?" I finally asked. "Memories." Autumn Eyes answered. "The name's Haruma, by the way." Did he just seriously smirk at me? I backed away slowly. "... That was manly. Ha ha..." I fought the urge to even bluntly say it. "D-Don't take it the wrong way!" He yelled. A loud disturbing sound of a crying girl was heard from the ceiling. "Whose memory went berserk this time?" Yue asked in a rare, serious tone. Berserk? What are they talking about? Can memories turn into scary monsters? This world is supposed to be perfect. If I were Ery, I wouldn’t even think of creating monsters in here.

 

"Why the heck did you create monsters in here!?" I shouted. All of the sudden, a shadow emerged from the ceiling. I fell down to the floor due to the impact. "Shit!" I heard Hirari curse. She actually knows how to curse? I looked up to see the shadow right in front me. It slowly began to form into a human. Wait... it turned into Ren? But Ren is over there! I panicked and stood up, summoning my rose. Honestly, I have no idea what to do next. "Kazuki! Get away from her! That Ren is a horrible memory that went out of control!" I heard Ela's voice from afar, shouting my name. What are they talking about?

 

"Can that guy get even stupider?" Dylan complained. The real Ren looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry. If only I could control my past memory... it wouldn't go crazy." She mumbled.

 

I watched in horror as the other Ren turned into a shadow again and formed into a large katana. "Watch out!" In the blink of an eye, Kisa shielded me. Everything went on too fast and the last thing I saw was Kisa's rose firing a red and black beam, destroying the shadow. A cloud of smoke enveloped us. I coughed and waved my hands in front of my nose. "What the heck just happened?" I stood up, glaring at everyone for not telling me everything. Other than the people I've already met, there were others here, too. They just didn't have roses. They're probably people who ended up here because of what they saw in The Painting or whatever. That's how I came here, anyway. "Like I said, this world is made out of the memories inside the seven roses." Ery said. That doesn't really explain much. "Including the bad memories. Whenever our feelings go unstable, the pain and horror we feel takes the shape of something from our memories and turn into shadows that just want to... kill." She continued. Great. Nobody told me I was going to die here!

 

 

 

 

She took me to the forest. We walked for a while until she stopped by a branch of a large tree. "... Do you know the reason why I created The Painting?" She suddenly asked. I gulped. "To escape the real world... right?" I unsurely answered. She sighed heavily and rested her head on the tree. "You never asked why we wanted to escape the real world." She reminded me. That's right. Why didn't I realize it sooner? What exactly was the reason for all this?

 

"Okay. Then why?" I gave her the question she was looking for. Her back was faced against me. I saw her take off her glasses. "... Because we think our existence doesn't belong in that world." She turned toward me and smiled. I felt something pinch at my heart when I saw her smile. It was completely contrary from what she had just said. "That's not true. No matter what you experience, those are the things that make you alive." I said without thinking.

 

Both of us were surprised. I admit, it was the first time I actually tried to say something meaningful in this world. She started laughing.  "I get it. No wonder my friends admire you so much. Back in the real world, we sometimes talk about you." She confessed. What the heck? They talk about me? I suddenly shivered. "I'll be going back to the headquarters now." She said as she turned to leave. I tilted my head. "We have a hideout?"

 

She nodded and raised her eyebrow at me as if I was some clueless human being who just happened to pass by and ask. "The theater room." Wow. I actually thought it would be a flying house or a submarine or something awesome. "I have a mission for you, Kazuki. Explore this forest. You might find something out." She said with a disturbingly sweet voice. She really creeps me out. Everyone here gives me the creeps, anyway, so what makes Ery different?

 

When she was finally out of sight, I began to look around, wishing silently that I wouldn't get lost. I heard a voice. It was singing a beautiful melody. I quickly followed it even though I think it's just trap. What if it's another bad memory? A shadow Ren? What if it's Ela this time? Or Dylan.

 

... I stumbled upon a rock.

 

 

The singing voice stopped. "Ouch..." I rubbed the back of my head in pain since it hit the tree. Footsteps came toward me until I saw a pair of long white socks and doll shoes right in front of me. I quickly took out my rose and pointed it towards the enemy. "Ack!" The enemy squealed.

 

When I looked up, I saw Ren holding up her own dual-colored rose. "I'm the real Ren. Don't worry." She assured me. I sighed before standing up and returning my rose back in my hands or soul or I don't really know where it goes. Ren did the same. "That was a good song. Were you the one singing?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Ren nodded politely. Out of all of them, I honestly know that Ren is the most timid and sane. The others are weird. "I'm sorry for what my heartbroken self did to you." She bowed down. I was caught off-guard. I wasn't expecting this! Heartbroken self? Does she mean that heartbreak was the cause of that bad memory?

 

We decided to sit down on the grass for a while. This forest is really peaceful. None of us spoke for a while as we enjoyed the breeze. "I have siblings." She suddenly said. I stayed quiet. Maybe she needs someone to listen to her for now. I just don't get it. Ery sent me on purpose just to listen to Ren’s stack of feelings. I don’t get why it has to be me.

 

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There were five of us and I was the eldest. My dad works as a scientist in our province so we were a wealthy family. Of course, I was the eldest so I had to be a good role model for my siblings. I knew I was already acting like a lady. I was growing up as I wanted to. I know I'm trying my best to live well, although I had many sicknesses. Anemia and ulcer were just fractions of my whole self. Somehow, I knew I wasn't really going to live long.

 

I failed as the eldest.

 

 

My siblings weren't respecting me anymore. Day by day, at least one of them says something horrible to me. Especially my brother. He treats me as if my existence shouldn't go on much longer. He told me to die. Even though I had power to make him respect me as his sister, I couldn't bring myself to hurt him. I had pride as the eldest. I wanted to take care of my family someday, but how am I supposed to? I can't do anything for anyone to acknowledge me. All my life, I was trying to be the princess they expect me to be. I sang music to ease their mood, I took on many duties, and I push myself to the limit everyday just to survive. I wanted at least to make my father proud.

 

But my younger sister just next to my age was always better.

 

The people around me started to use me but I couldn't say no. I was too scared to defy anyone. I felt so weak and unable to fight for myself. I knew I was being used by most of the people I meet, but I was too afraid. If it weren't for my friends, I would have been completely powerless against the world. The real world.

 

I felt like losing my standing in the family. I didn't want to hurt them or tell them anything that might cause a bigger issue so I sought comfort from my friends. They were always there for me and they were the ones who tell me I shouldn't die. I should live on as myself.

 

Out of that group of friends, I fell in love with one. Back then, we were always fighting and arguing. I honestly never thought that we'd fall for each other. It took us a year to figure it out. He was my light. I thought that even if I lose myself, he'd find me. Even if I go insane, he'd still understand me. Even if I can't live on as Ren, I'd still live on as the woman he loves.

 

But I took him for granted.

 

I take out all my frustrations on him. I start pointless arguments. I lashed out all my pain by fighting with him. All he wanted to do was be with me. Why am I always letting my feelings get ahead of me? Why... why am I so weak? There was nothing else. I lost everything. I didn't want to be a burden to my family or to him anymore so... just like that, I disappeared. They'll be happier without me... right?

 

If only I was stronger. If only I could control my feelings. I wouldn't have to erase my own existence in that world.

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Silence.

 

I saw nothing but despair in Ren's eyes as her trembling fingers held on to her necklace with a ribbon pendant. She didn't die because of her illnesses. She died because of too much despair. All she ever wanted was to live normally and become stronger. "I came here because I wanted to fight. I wanted to fight my own memories. Even though they're not as painful as Ery's, I just want to fight. It wasn't fair. I didn't get to be acknowledged as the person I wanted to be. I was just a shadow..." She took out her rose again. I examined it carefully. It was a sweet color of baby blue and had pink tips. Could it be that the colors of their roses represent the things they really wish for? Baby Blue must have represented her silent way of crying. Pink must have been her desire for love.

 

"... He loves you." I told her. There I go again, saying things before thinking about it. She looked up at me with tearful eyes. She took off her thick black glasses and wiped her face with a handkerchief. "He doesn't remember me anymore. I'm in this world, remember?" She bit her lip. Her voice was already cracking and she started sobbing. Holy crap. What do I do? I don't know how to comfort a crying girl! Ugh, I get involved in the most difficult things...

 

I cleared my throat. "Just because he doesn't remember you, doesn't mean he doesn't love you anymore." I said again. Her eyes widened and she started laughing. "We never know unless we try leaving this place." I reminded her. She suddenly looked at me with wide eyes. Her rose disappeared from her hands and she sighed. "I can't do that. Not unless we're sure that he will be there for me. Along with my family. I just want to feel loved again. Just that."  She stood up and put on her eyeglasses. I watched her breathe in the fresh forest air. "Don't worry. I won't try to kill myself anymore. I came here because I wanted to fight my memories. That's exactly what I'm going to do."

 

 

 

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Meanwhile...

 

 

"This is really weird!" Haruma yelled. There was a familiar brunette guy in front of him, face-palming in annoyance. "How do we tell them?" He asked. A short raven-haired guy with a really thin frame raised both of his eyebrows. "You guys are idiots. Just tell Ren." The two manly boys looked at him with an expression that says 'you-go-do-that'. "That's not going to be easy, Dylan. Ren will leave this world if she finds out." Haruma reminded them. The brunette in front of Haruma let out a small smile as Dylan rolled his eyes. "If you really want that girl to be happy, then just tell her." The brunette suggested. Dylan nodded in agreement.

 

The brunette stood up from his seat and walked out of the room. He walked along the corridors of the school and went straight to the music room. He went inside and picked up a violin case from the table. He chuckled lightly. "It's just you and me now."

 

Little did he know that just across the music room was the art room. "... It sounds like a violin." A certain young girl mumbled to herself. She went out of the room to see where it was coming from. "That's creepy. The music room has its lights off." She swallowed her saliva, silently praying that she wouldn't see anything traumatizing. She peeked into the music room quietly. There was a lovely melody in the air. A young man stood in the room with his trusty instrument.  The young girl was wonderstruck at what she saw. The room’s lights weren't on instead there were lovely sparkles of honey brown and red lights everywhere. "The lights have the same color as my rose..." She whispered to herself. The first thing she noticed was that the song had no lyrics. It also had a sad tune.

 

Suddenly, the brunette stopped playing. He looked at the door only to see a young girl standing awkwardly. She blushed and was about to leave when he spoke up. "Do you want to try, Hirari?" The girl's eyes widened. "Y-you know my name?" She asked. The brunette nodded. He walked toward her and coldly stared down at her. He was really tall - about 5 feet and 10 inches. Hirari felt like dirt compared to him. "If you don't want to, then don't disturb me."

 

Hirari felt really offended. "Wow, that's so nice of you." She sarcastically remarked. He smirked. "I know." Hirari wanted so much to kick him in the face but he was too tall for her. "Fine. I'll play." She grabbed the violin from his hands and started to play.

 

They were both silent for a while.

 

"Shit, that was awful..." Hirari's eye twitched. The brunette chuckled, embarrassing her even more. "OKAY, FINE. I don't know how." She admitted. The brunette smiled teasingly. "You are a lady. You shouldn’t use curse words. And about the violin, just... keep practicing. You're getting there." He turned his back towards her and cleared his throat. He was never good in expressing what he really wants to say and he'll never admit that out loud.

 

Little did he know that Hirari was already smiling. "Hey. You should put lyrics to that song. Just saying." She commented. The brunette shrugged his shoulders.

 

 

"Not all songs need lyrics. And my name is not “Hey”. The name's Gareki. If you ever need help, I'll be here." 

3: 03 Cursed

Now I feel like I’m losing rhythm,

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I woke up to the sound of gunshots and clashing swords. Am I in the Medieval Era now? Every day, something alien happens around here. These guys sure know how to make life an adventure. I groaned and stood up from the sofa I slept in. After all, none of the real people here sleep in the dorms except for Dylan. And the great artist Hirari hates designing houses. So there are no neighborhoods here.

 

I looked out the window of the art room. I didn't know what kind of reaction I was supposed to put on my face. THEY WERE FIGHTING WITH WEAPONS! That's illegal! Aren't we in a school? I waved my hands and started yelling. "Are you guys crazy?!" Thankfully, Ela and Haruma noticed me. "Hey, Kazu! Come train with us!" Haruma was seriously grinning while shooting a gun at the forest like a psycho trigger-happy bastard. I watched in horror as Dylan waved a scythe randomly at random people I don't know who must have ended up here the same way I did. "Ela, please don't glare at me while holding a machine gun like that." I sighed. Ela ignored me and looked away, pretending she didn't see anything. Ela will always be the serious-type Ela.

 

I put on my school uniform. If you’re going to ask why I have a school uniform, well, this is a school. The uniform was a dark blue coat over a white long-sleeved shirt and a tie. Well, you can put random vests over it if you want. It is paired with dark blue pants. You can put the logo ANYWHERE you want, I swear. Yue makes the strangest rules. The girls wear high-waisted red checkered skirts with red suspenders over a white long-sleeved blouse. Ery’s uniform was a tad bit different, since she’s older by one year. Her sleeves were wide-ended and the ribbon on the collar was a bit bigger. My logo is simply on my left shoulder. Thankfully, Hirari drew my glasses for me and with the powers of her oh-so-great rose, it materialized into real glasses. Oh, sweet cherry stars, I finally have my glasses! Thanks to my memory of it. And thanks to Hirari.

 

So how exactly does Hirari’s power work? Her power is often said to be like Ery’s when, in fact, it’s actually different. Ery doesn’t need to do anything to make things real. On the other hand, Hirari has to be able to draw it well before it forms into something real. Also, she can only make the appearance of a human, animal, or object, and that doesn’t include its personality, feelings, mind, fate, and well-being.

 

I decided to go around the school for today. We're all too lazy to attend classes. There are no real teachers here. Just Hirari's and the other artists' drawings that came to life because of the seven roses’ powers. I went straight to the music room and looked inside. There was that brunette guy they call Gareki. What kind of name is Gareki? He was cleaning a violin. There was also Ren. She was strumming a bass guitar. The one that really caught my attention was Kisa. She was dancing and it looked awesome. When I dance, I look like a jumping mushroom. Ery was on keyboard. Do they have a band?

 

Kisa noticed me quickly. I waved a little at her. She took a towel from her bag and wiped off her sweat. She went out the room with her usual cool aura. "You dance great." I told her. "Thanks, man." She gave me a pat on the shoulder. Her eyes gazed into the music room dreamily. I somehow sensed that there was something wrong, but I really didn't want to ask.

 

"It's good to dance like this. Back in the real world, I couldn't." I don’t even ask anything yet everyone keeps on sharing their bucket of feels with me. Do I look like I know anything? Kisa huffed. "We can't get sick here. This world was made to escape the real world. Including all the hindrances such as illnesses." She had a smile on her face but she was bad at faking it. I just noticed that the people around me have a bad habit of pretending to be happy.

 

 

Are they really happy in this world?

 

 

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I have a heart disease.

 

Since I was young, it prevented me from doing anything that might make it worse. Physical activity was lessened. I love moving around my body. I'm the most athletic out of all my friends. I am the only one who loved dancing. All that activity was taken away from me because it will only worsen my illness.

 

The worst part? I must prevent myself from feeling sad.

 

It pained me. I kept a childish disposition just to keep myself happy. I didn't want to mature because if I did, I'd experience the pain of the real world. I'd take a huge risk. I will die if this keeps up. I tried. I tried to prevent sadness. It was really painful. The doctor said I should cry loudly and let it all out. I did as I was told.

 

But the more I cry, the weaker I get. The more I laugh, the weaker my heart gets. It was just the same. There was no difference. I still can't do the things I love. I can still do activity, but I... can't even reach my limit. The more I dance, the worse my heart gets. I fell in love, too... and the heartbreak was too much. I still have to take matters carefully. I still have to live like a child. I even fail school sometimes. I did a whole lot of things. I only wanted to feel complete. Just living was enough. But the limits were horrible.

 

And then my family got me into an arranged marriage.

 

It was horrible. It was just because we needed money. But I couldn't risk my freedom for this. My heart is already at its toll! It's too broken to be given away! I tried ending my life, but I didn't want to leave anyone behind. Thankfully, it got cancelled. But the love story didn’t end there. I finally found someone who loved me despite everything. I got left behind by lots of people because I sacrificed the other things I love just to be with him. That was when I started to wonder.

 

Being in love won’t cure my sickness. It won't change anything. I hated pretending I was okay. I hated being misunderstood by people. I hated not being able to express my feelings. One strong emotion is enough for this useless heart to start going unstable. I still want to live. I just want to live.

 

I can’t live in that world. Death is inevitable.

 

So I followed Ery to this world.

 

 

 

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She suddenly stretched her arms and laughed. "Did anyone else tell you their story?" She asked me. I bit my lip. While she was telling me her story, her facial expression showed too much. It felt like she was just punishing herself all her life. "Ren did." I answered. Kisa let out a long sigh. "We all have sad stories. Ren’s kindness was abused. I couldn't live normally. But, you know, Ery had it worst." She suddenly said. What did she want me to do? I shook my head in disapproval. “No one has the right to say whether one had the best or worst. We all experience things that only we can handle. It’s true that death is inevitable, but… what makes you different? We’re all going to pass on someday. All we have to do is live before it happens.” I quickly covered my mouth after saying that statement. I don’t want to offend anyone, but my stupid mouth won’t shut up. Kisa didn’t even bother to look at me.

 

 "I should be going. See you, newbie!" She ran back inside the room. I was still dumbfounded after hearing her story and more dumbfounded after hearing my response. She tried preventing sadness... but couldn't. The color of her rose is the color of a cursed heart.

 

 

I was still thinking about Kisa's story when I went to the studio on the first floor. I don't know why they put a studio here, though.

 

Surprisingly, there was electrical equipment inside. And there were also lots of lots of notebooks. The notebooks reminded me of someone I know from the real world who is extremely obsessed with notebooks. Strangely enough, that someone also disappeared from the real world, so I expect for her to be in this world somewhere in the school.

 

And... is that--?

 

I should've known. Right there among the mountain of notebooks is that childhood friend of mine. Her hair was orange brown, but darker than Ren's. It was cut short just below her shoulders and her bangs were too long to be called bangs anymore. She parts it sideways or brushes it up.

 

Her back was turned towards me. She had her hair up in a French braid today. Unlike the others, she wore long black stockings instead of white socks and heeled boot-like shoes instead of doll shoes. Rule-breaker? Probably. That’s her style of clothing, and it’s not like this world has rules. "Hey." I said. She was busy writing in a notebook so I kind of startled her. She quickly turned around. "Oh!" She said in a lively tone. She was small, but had a slender figure. Her red eyeglasses were on her head. Geez, how did everyone destroy their eyes? Eyeglasses are everywhere. Kisa had no eye problems but she still owned a pair. Again, welcome to the teenage world. "You're that newbie!" My old friend said. Did she lose her memories? Doesn't she have a rose?

 

"You don't remember me?" I asked. She moved her lips sideways as if she was smirking. "Of course I do. The principal told me about a girlish newbie. Kazuki, right?" What the-- That bastard Yue! He's nuts, I swear! What kind of principal introduces his students by calling them ‘girlish’?

 

 

I tried to contain my annoyance. "What are these notebooks?" I asked her. Her face brightened up. "These contain song lyrics! Some of them are my journals. Some are story drafts. Also, some contain the list of games and movies I want to have!" If there was one thing about her, it's that she sounds like a deranged fangirl when she's happy. She then wrote her name in the notebook she was holding.

 

Rima.

 

 

"It is pronounced as ‘Ree-ma’." She explained carefully. So she really forgot about everyone? Or maybe I'm just dreaming. "Hey, do you have a rose?" I bluntly asked. She looked like she didn't expect my question. An awkward silence came by and I started wondering whether I hit the right spot or the wrong one.  "How did you know about... those roses...?” Bingo. She's one of them. "Didn't anyone tell you about my rose? It's a really girly one so don't laugh." I showed her the annoying rainbow rose. She looked at it with sparkling eyes. "It does look girly! Geez, who knew you, Kazu, had such Barbie doll memories?" Please grant me permission to throw her out the window. Please.

 

I am still trying to contain my annoyance. "Hey, hey! Do you think this studio is great? I make my own song covers here! Oh, and these notebooks were hard to create since I couldn't persuade Hirari to draw thousands of notebooks to pour my heart and soul into." Anyone will decline if you just order them to draw a thousand notebooks as if it was an easy task. "I am seriously in love with video games right now! Dude, have you played the latest version of--" UGH. PLEASE MAKE HER STOP TALKING. "Oh, and I've been thinking of drawing something amazing in my sketchpad. What do you think I should-- Kazuki?"

 

I quickly looked back at her. She'll split my head in half through my stomach if she finds out I wasn't interested. I'm not kidding. I've known this girl since we were 9. I know her too well. "Shouldn't you be interacting with the others? You seem like you've been spending everyday in this isolated place." I tried diverting her attention from fangirling to real-life situations.

 

She poked me on the forehead instead of taking me seriously. Nobody here takes me seriously, so I want to go home now.

 

"You know me. I don't like being within crowds of strangers." She winked. I want to hit her head with a book. I don't get what her purpose here is! She writes lyrics, sings, writes stories and plays video games. She's not really doing anything useful in this world, is she? She looks sooooo happy that I don’t even know why she’s even in this world! This world is for miserable people. In my opinion, Rima is not miserable.

 

She quickly turned her computer on. "I want to know what you think about my voice." She forcefully made me wear the headphones as she played her song cover in the laptop. Strangely enough, the only instrument playing is a piano. Her voice followed after a short piano intro. I have to admit, her small singing voice blended well with the piano. It actually sounded good. I looked at her and she was watching my every facial expression.

 

I sighed, knowing that she wants an opinion. I know her too well. Knowing her too well is a burden, though. She’s still the same, even in the real world. "You have a sweet voice." I told her. Her face looked like it had just recently been splashed with cold water. "Really?" She asked hopefully. I nodded and grinned. Before I knew it, she was already jumping up and down and squealing. To be honest, it's the first time I ever saw her this happy. Does she enjoy this world that much? She wasn't like Ren or Kisa. She really is happy right now.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of the violin echoed throughout the auditorium. Ery nodded to herself as she watched Gareki play on-stage with such passion. "There's an idiot on-stage." Haruma said. I punched my stomach to prevent myself from laughing. It sounds like they don't really get along. Truth be told, the violin reminded me of Rima. Only hers is a piano instrumental. And her voice.

 

My eyes quickly caught on Ela who was watching with complete awe. I'm actually wondering what her story was like. Is she happy here like Hirari and Rima? Or is she here because she just had to be? Right now, I suddenly want them to tell me all their stories. If the colors of the roses represent your life, why is mine a rainbow? And it wasn't in that painting... I wonder what the others without roses saw in that painting? Why are they in here?

 

The one I really want to find out about was Ery. Just how cruel was her life? Is it too difficult to even bear? I want to get out of this world. Who knows, maybe the real world wouldn't treat me like a flying platypus. Maybe they'd remember me when I go back. Ery says no one tried.

 

I want to try.

 

 

 

But I somehow want to take all of them with me. Why? Because after hearing Ren's and Kisa's story, I just want them to experience their lives in a different way. They both said the same thing.

 

 

"I lived on."

 

 

"You've been daydreaming." Haruma snapped me out of my thoughts. "Dude, sorry." I chuckled. I feel comfortable around this dude. He's the only dude here who actually befriended me. Gareki's a snob and Yue is creepy. Dylan hates me. I think. The rest of the guys don't have roses.

 

 

Wait... Haruma doesn't have a rose, too... right?

4: 04 Wish

A loud silence filled the auditorium.

 

He couldn't hear anything. Just noise. Everything was noise. He could hear the people's screams as his consciousness started to slip away. "Are you alright?" He could still hear them talking to him. He could still hear a screeching noise as he lay on the cold stage, unable to move.

 

The last thing he saw was his broken violin.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"Who's she?"

"The seventh rose, I guess."

"Um, it's either she's invisible or we just don't care"

"You guys are so mean! She's our friend!"

 

Gareki snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the loud voices of the people around him. Too loud. Too noisy.

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Right in front of us is none other than Rima. I think Hirari black-mailed her into finally getting out of that lonely studio. That's good. "Yo! I'm Rima! I'm the studio freak in that studio! I, umm, well… I’m a musician and a writer, I guess. I can draw, too!" I take back what I said. This is not good. She had a really annoying happy expression on her face even though what she was saying didn’t make any sense. "... Aren't musicians supposed to be mature?" I heard Yue comment. "And I thought writers were melancholic and metaphorical?" Haruma whispered back. Unfortunately for them, Rima heard it all. She flailed her arms around to get their attention. "Hey! I'm a melancholic person, you know! And I can sing and play the piano although it's not perfect. I'll show you!" Her voice was so loud; we had no idea what to reply. I looked at Ery. She had her face in her palms. Then I looked at Ela, hoping that she would talk some sense into Rima.

 

She was backing away really slowly. Can somebody please control her? Even Hirari is pretending she doesn't know the girl! I think I should, too. "No thanks. Your talking voice is already loud enough. Your singing voice must be monstrous. And why are you wearing your glasses on your head? It’s not a hat." Haruma told her. HE'S REALLY BRAVE! Where did he get the courage to say that?

 

I saw Gareki stand up from the couch. "You're noisy." He bluntly said. I admire their bravery. I'm serious. "WHAT!? My eyesight is not that terrible! I can choose not to wear my glasses properly!” Rima answered back. "Rima, shut up." Dylan sighed in embarrassment. "Dylan, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE!" I thought she said she didn't like talking to people? They sound like they know each other so well. "She's the exact opposite of Ren. She doesn't have the slightest drop of being ladylike in her." Ery spoke up.

 

 Finally, Ela stepped in. "Alright, listen. Since this world is getting boring, Yue decided to announce an event tomorrow. There are other people here besides us, so we have to make our world as normal as possible." Ela was obviously enduring Rima's complaints. Poor girl. Just how did she become friends with Rima, anyway? She’s a serious-type while Rima is… well, I don’t even know if she’s human. I also worry about Hirari. How many years of enduring did she experience?

 

Dylan suddenly laughed. "It's about a musical concert, right? No thanks. I don't know how to play anything." He told them. "So whoever knows how to play an instrument or sing, just talk to Ery." Ela finished explaining. I don't know how to do anything musical so I'll pass. "Kazu!" Haruma put an arm around my neck like what bros do. It's not the homo kind of 'around-the-neck', okay? He had a confident smile on his face. "You go be the vocalist."

 

 

 

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While they were all practicing for some musical concert, I took a short break. My voice is awful. For me to become a vocalist is abnormal. Yeah, I know, I’m pessimistic. Well, I don’t really do things just because I’m good at them or bad at them. I do things for experience. I’m still young. We all are. We should live as much as we could.

 

Surprisingly, there was a vending machine near the field. But wait... it doesn't have the tray thingy where you put the money in. Is this the type of vending machine where you have to hug it to get a drink? I gulped and slowly went towards it.

 

Then I wrapped my arms around it.

 

 

"Um... what are you doing?" I yelped and jumped back at the sound of the voice. Dylan stood before me and he was looking at me weirdly. "... That's not a good substitute for a girlfriend..." He awkwardly told me. I waved my hands frantically. "I-it's not what you think it is!" This is really humiliating! Stupid vending machine. Dylan was still looking at me with a 'what-in-the-world' expression. "Why did you even think about hugging it? Just press that button on the right side and a drawer will come out to take your money."

 

I didn't say anything anymore because it would be really embarrassing. I just did as he said and finally got a drink. We sat on the bleachers of the soccer field for a while. Some unreal people were on the field playing soccer. "... Hey. I assume you already know our stories, right?" Dylan was the first to talk to me. It was a bit surprising since he doesn't talk first usually. "Only Ren's and Kisa's." I answered. I feel awkward and I don't know why. Is he going to tell me his story, too?

 

"I don't really have my own reason to be here." He confessed. "I'm only here because my friends are here. I'm content in the real world. I wasn't supposed to be one of the Seven Roses." He continued. Then why is he here? This is only a place for people who had unfair memories, right? I wanted to ask, but this is Dylan I'm talking to. We never know what he thinks. "There were actually eight of us, but Ery only painted seven. My rose was supposed to belong to Rina."

 

Rina? Oh, yes. I know her. She's waaaaay louder than Rima. No, they’re not twins. Their names just rhyme. She was the only one in their group of friends who didn't disappear while I was in the real world. So she was one of them, huh? I think I kind of get it. "But Rina didn't really want to be forgotten. She lived her life by hiding who she really is from her family. She wasn't even allowed to leave the house unless it's important. She wasn't even allowed to make one loud sound at home. She was like living in a cage. And she wasn't allowed to do unladylike things. Unfair, huh?" Dylan kept on explaining. "But she didn't want to be forgotten. So I... sacrificed myself to take her place here. Like the others, she doesn’t remember us anymore."

 

So that was Dylan's story? He sacrificed his existence for their friend? Does Ery even know what she had done? No. I can't blame Ery. I don't have the right to blame anyone. I don't even know why I'm here. "There is another reason why I'm here." Dylan stood up. He looked at me with glaring eyes. "I want them to be like Rina."

 

 

Huh? What does he mean? He wants them to just accept their existence in the real world? If you ask me, it's like telling them to go back to hell. He has a point, though. "Purple and black. That's the combination of my rose color." He sounded as if he was testing me. "Black is because I'm not supposed to be here. Purple is because that was Rina's original color."

 

He walked away from me, leaving me dumbfounded. Did he want me to figure out all their pasts? Rina accepted how she lived despite not having freedom. She had hope for her life. The others here are all fighting against their own memories. How can Dylan even do something about these people? No, wait. I can't judge yet. I don't know their life stories yet. "Kazu! There you are. We've been looking for you! Let's go!" I saw Haruma run towards me with a guitar in his hands. "We should go practice for tonight."

 

 

"You actually let Kazuki be the vocalist? HAHAHA!" A familiar loud laugh interrupted us. Haruma's right eye twitched upon hearing it. "Oh. It's that noisy woman." He face-palmed. Rima stomped toward us and this is not a good sign. Sure, she was like, saying how awful my voice sounds like but, it's okay. That's just how she is. "Noisy? Huh, I bet that impression will change once you hear my sweet lullabies!" How the hell did she get this confident? The Rima I knew didn't have confidence at all!

 

Haruma cupped his chin with his right hand. "Hmm... Kazuki, since when did screamo songs become lullabies?" He asked. He's going to regret it. "I HAVE A SOFT SINGING VOICE, DAMMIT!" Rima screamed straight into his ear. Told you he was going to regret it. He clutched his ears in pain. "Are you even a girl?" Haruma is handling her well. That's a good start. The first step to handle Rima is to be able to shut her up.

 

 

After minutes of arguing, Haruma decided to let her sing one song in the band. Just one. He was still cautious about her voice. We were on our way to the stadium where basketball games were supposed to be held. We made our way straight to a locker room. It was just our band -- Haruma, Rima, Hirari, Gareki, and Kisa. Wait... Gareki's not in our band. Why’s he here? Oh… violin. Right.

 

Rima was peeking out the door. "Rima, stop stalking people." Hirari scolded her. I snickered to myself. "I am NOT!" Rima defended herself. "Pervert. The others must be dressing up out there." Kisa laughed. "I am NOT peeping!" Is there an end to Rima's voice?

 

Suddenly, I thought of asking something I wanted to ask for a long time. "Haruma... you don't have a rose, right?" I looked at him, but he looked like he was deep in thought. It was the first time Haruma had this serious expression. "We don't." I got an answer, but it wasn't from Haruma.

 

It was from Gareki.

 

I hesitated in asking more since Gareki didn’t have a good impression on me. He looked at me with a cold, emotionless face. “We don’t have memories about the people in this world, that is why we can’t tell whether we know you people in the real world or not. The only things we remember are all about ourselves and ourselves only.” That has got to be the longest paragraph Gareki was able to string together. At least, in my opinion.

 

He had his violin case on his lap. He didn't say anything else after that. "... You know, you should learn to smile more." Hirari told him. It looked like she was listening to our conversation. Meanwhile, Kisa and Rima are... still teasing each other. Gareki chuckled. "Did you fall in love with my smile?" Wow. He sure is full of himself.

 

"You thick-faced bull!"

"Wow. I didn't you know you could fall in love with a bull."

"##%%&**---&&$%&*+($$%! Go die, violin freak!"

"Ladies first."

"DAMN YOU!"

“How many times do I have to tell you not to curse?”

 

 

My whole impression of Hirari just changed. She's worse than Rima. On the contrary, she’s more like a girl than Rima is. Oh, well. At least she's not violent.

 

Someone knocked at the door. Rima opened it and found Dylan. "Dylan!" And after greeting him enthusiastically, she slapped him. She really did slap him. That's her way of greeting. It's a good thing Hirari doesn't slap people. "THAT WASN'T FUNNY!" Dylan hit her hard on the head and she started sulking in a corner. Dylan completely ignored her complaints after that violent scene. "May I excuse Kazuki?"

 

 

What now?

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A lot of audience came. That included some of the real people who weren't one of us or the K-pop dudes. Most of the audiences weren’t real people, of course. It was Gareki's turn to perform and he was able to silence the whole stadium just by using his violin. "In the real world, he was in the middle of a performance when he suddenly fainted." Haruma's voice startled me. I looked at him and what I saw were autumn eyes filled with worry. "When he was brought to the hospital, they found out that his eardrums were injured. After that, he couldn't play the violin that well anymore. It was like a curse. A tone-deaf musician."

 

 

Hearing that from Haruma kind of pained me. Kisa once said that illnesses are all cured here. This is their dream world. It must be the reason why Gareki's here. "We don't have roses. We can't remember whether we know who you guys were in the real world or if this is really the first time we've met you. But we do remember who we are." Haruma ended his statement with a sad tone. Gareki's story is as sad as his violin's melody.

 

 

We all saw how ochre and red lights flew around the stadium. The lights danced in rhythm with his melody. "Geez, he didn't put my lyrics in it." Hirari complained. Right after Hirari stated that, Gareki stopped before reaching the last chorus. He spoke on the microphone with his silky voice. "Hirari, if you're there, come up here and sing." What a coincidence.

 

Everyone except those who didn't know her looked at her. She clenched her fists. "... Damn you." Poor girl. She never really liked attention. She slowly walked to the middle of the court, feeling all eyes on her. As she took the microphone from his hand, I saw her say something to Gareki and I have a feeling it was something unpleasant. Gareki started to play again and we all heard the lyrics Hirari sang through the mic. "Psst. Kazuki."

 

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"What now?"

 

 

Dylan and Ela were both cornering me. "Ren told you, right? About her life." Ela assured. I nodded, not knowing what they were up to. "It's amazing how you were able to comfort her." Dylan clapped his hands. I raised an eyebrow. "Your point?" I asked them impatiently. They looked at each other. "Yue received a strange box with one blue and one pink rose inside. We don't know how it came here but it came from..." Ela's voice trailed off. I tilted my head.

 

"It came from the boy who loved Ren the most."

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The four of us went to an empty locker room. Dylan guarded the door. Ela held the box in her hands. "Um, Ren... what if I told you that, uh, there's a possibility that the guy you told me about would come here?" I asked, unsure. Ren frowned. "But that won't happen, right? He's a happy person. His family loves him. They don't keep secrets from one another and he is living freely. Why would he come here?" Ren sure has a pessimistic personality. I don't blame her.

 

Ela walked towards her. "He's willing to risk being forgotten just to find you. Ren, wake up from that loneliness." She coldly said. I still don't get why they chose me to do this with them instead of Ery. I can still hear Gareki and Hirari's song. The stadium's speakers were all on including the one in this room. Perfect background music.

 

Ren took off her glasses. She wiped off her tears. "How? Nobody out there remembers us." I have a feeling that Ela wants to straightforwardly tell her now. I should do something. "That's why we should all try going back." I said something weird, didn't I? I know I did because both Ela and Dylan are looking at me with shocked faces. "It's too risky!" Ela complained.

 

I said too much. I should try containing myself. If only I could tell them about Dylan's rose, but that was supposed to be a secret, right? I sighed in dismay. We have to hurry before the song ends. "Ren! Listen to me! He may not remember you, but I'm sure that he knows who you are! Here, open this!" I grabbed the box from Ela and handed it over to Ren.

 

She slowly lifted up the lid and found two roses inside. There was a letter attached to it. She carefully opened the letter and the next thing I saw were tears streaming down her cheeks. Ela looked down at her own feet. I hope the letter had something good in it.

 

Ren looked up at us and smiled. "... I... want to go back."

 

 

Then the song ended.

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"... Thanks, Hirari." Gareki called out. He bowed down before the girl. Hirari laughed. "No problem. If you ever need help, I've got your back, violin freak." Then she went out of the principal's office to go back to the art room. On the other hand, we were called to the same office when Yue found out what we had done. He had that creepy gentle smile on again. This guy is scary!

 

He sat comfortably on his chair as the four of us stood before him. "What you did was great! Good job." Yue praised us. It made him even creepier. Dylan rolled his eyes while Ela looked really pissed. Gareki still had a serious face on. "Detention." Yue had a really sweet smile on his face when he said that. I HATE THIS GUY. "Uh... why isn't Hirari involved?" Ela asked. Oh, you brave, brave woman.

 

"She's in-charge of the appearance of this world so she's excused." The so-called principal explained. "THAT'S BIASED!" Dylan yelled at him. "Lucky." Gareki commented. "You can choose not to go to detention, but... I have a condition." Yue squinted his midnight eyes and the four of us froze on the spot.

 

 

"Never mind. I'll go."

"Fine."

"... Okay."

"Yes, you bas-- sir."

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Ery was slamming her hands on the couch. "... KYAAAA! AKASHI IS SO HOT AND--" She was disturbed by a knock on the door. Yue came in. "Hey." He bowed politely. "Don't ruin my fangirl moment, Yue." Ery hissed at him. She was obviously watching shows in the theater room. Yue looked at her with a childish look on his face. "I hope you don't mind me sending your juniors to detention." Yue apologized. "WHAT!? WHY!? How dare you! I'm going to send them out of there!" Ery took her uniform from a small cabinet they put in the room. "Get out!"

 

 

Yue ignored her. "Ery... how do we... get out of this place?" He asked. Ery stopped moving. She looked back at him, secretly wondering how a 22-year-old like Yue got in here anyway. He’s already an adult, and yet, he is still one of them. Still fighting their fate. "I don't know. None of us tried." She answered. Yue looked away from her. "Ren's trying."

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Dear lady in the painting in the museum,

 

I don’t know who you are.

 

But when I saw that painting, I didn't see the seven roses that everyone else was talking about. They were all telling me to come check it out, but I didn’t find it. For some reason, the painting of the seven roses that the other told me about was replaced by a more mysterious painting.

 

 

I saw you and me holding a pink and blue rose. I don't remember you, but I dream about you every night.

 

And no matter how many times I lose my memory, I'll fall in love with you over and over again. I fell in love with the girl in a painting. Silly, I know.

 

I will leave this box near that painting. I wish it would reach you.

 

That's my only wish.

5: 05 Rain

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"Kazuki and Ela, I have a mission for you. I need you two to attend classes like normal students. Attend the same classes as Ren, okay?" Ery requested. She sure is a good leader. She's the eldest among the Rose people, after all. Everyone respects her even more than they respect the bastard principal. "... Why does it always have to be me?" I complained. I mean, it's weird! I wasn't supposed to be in any of this, but here I am joining in their every mission.

                                                     

Ela raised her hand calmly without any emotion on her face. Does she even have her own set of emotions or does she only have three? Ery nodded to her, telling her to continue. “About Ren’s rose… what is its real ability? Sure, I’ve been with her in this world for as long as I can remember, but I don’t see her use her rose often.” Ela asked. Ery smiled deviously and I have a feeling that she wasn’t going to answer. “Figure it out.”

 

Suddenly, Haruma entered the room. "Erycchi! Hirari accidentally made a drawing come to life!" He reported. None of us reacted. It's pretty normal for Hirari to give life to her drawings because that's her rose's ability so we didn't really get why Haruma was freaking out. "...Uh-huh." Ela replied. "Wait... what's the big deal? That's normal." Ery said. Haruma shook his head. "Do you remember when we battled Ren's memory? Hirari is the same now. She drew something she remembered when she was in the real world and because it was a bad memory, it came to life against her will."

 

We still didn't show any reaction. Hirari is a happy girl. Her memories aren't that bad although there must be a reason why she's here. "What did she draw?" Ery asked Haruma. "A terror teacher."

 

Kisa burst into the room. "HAAAA? But Ren is currently taking her classes, trying to figure out how to leave! That teacher might make her cry! You know how sensitive Ren is!" She yelled. We were all unable to process what was happening anymore. Terror teac--

 

"WAIIIIIIT! WE'RE LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

"That teacher will kill us if we skip her class!"

"Does she look like she eats idiots?"

"Oh, no! Haruma is an idiot! She'll eat him!"

"He won't fit inside her!"

"But she's fatter than him!"

"I'M NOT FAT!"

 

Everyone in the room was panicking. We all gathered our uniforms. "GET OUT!" Ery kicked both me and Haruma out because they were going to change. After finally changing, we all went out the theater room and calmly walked along the corridors. Thankfully, we reached the classroom before the bell rang. "Wait, let's talk here." Ery called us to gather around a corner. "Ren is over there." She pointed at the third row seat next to the window. We all looked over to see Ren staring at the box she received three days ago. "What do we do? Prevent her from figuring out how to leave?" Kisa asked. Ery shook her head. "We don't have the right to control her. She found her happiness. We just have to see how we could destroy the teacher."

 

Destroy the teacher? Can't they just kill her like what they did to the shadow Ren? I still don't know what they're trying to do. "Can we kill her?" I asked. They all stared at me in shock. "You're so violent!" Kisa yelled straight at my face. "Kazuki, students aren't supposed to kill teachers!" Haruma scolded me. Wow, so you're saying that even though you guys were able to kill another Ren, fight with weapons around the school, and call the principal 'sir bastard', you are still supposed to act like model students? Biased world is biased.

 

"Okay. Here's the deal. We have to make trouble. But run before she catches us. Make sure she gets out of the classroom so we can kill her secretly." Ery commanded. Wait, that's exactly what I just said! Why are they all nodding to Ery now when they all refused me? This world is so biased!

 

Just then, the bell rang. "Okay, go to your seats." We all scrambled around just to find a vacant seat. It made me wonder why Ery and Haruma are here. They're older than us. Oh, well. This world is biased, anyway. Everyone felt a chill run down their spines when the fat lady entered. Hirari is good at drawing monstrous women. Miss Terror glared at each of us. She grabbed a chalk and... she ate it. Violently.

 

"... Hirari's memory must be harsh." Haruma stared in disgust at the terror teacher. We all heard a loud 'crunch' in her every bite. Hirari has crazy memories. After eating chalk, the teacher spit it out on the table. It looked just like a deformed banana. How did Hirari get disgusting memories? This is sick.

 

Just then, Haruma stood up. "You're fat." He said. Wha-- DUDE, ARE YOU CRAZY? The whole class almost died trying to prevent their laughter. For unreal people, they sure act like normal human beings. The teacher's eyes turned red. Holy crap. Hirari, what the hell did you just make?

 

Ery face-palmed. "I told you to make trouble but this is too obvious." She whispered to herself. We all watched as the teacher stomped towards Haruma. Ery let out an ear-piercing scream just in time before the teacher reaches Haruma. Miss Terror turned her head to look at Ery. "Lose some weight, teach!" Across the room, Kisa's voice was heard. The teacher had fumes coming out of her nose. The hell?

 

I looked at Ren and she looked really confused. When she finally looked back at me, I just shook my head. I hope she understood. I quickly stood up and ran towards the door. "... Catch me if you can, fat hen!" It's a pun. Please laugh.

 

I ran out the door and Haruma took that chance to jump out the window. It's okay, they can't get injured here. Or sick. Ela stayed put on her seat. Her only job was to make sure Ren doesn't follow our lead. Kisa followed Haruma and Ery ran after me. As we ran along the halls, I looked behind me to see the teacher... grow horns and charge like a bull. SHE HAD FREAKING HORNS. I blame Hirari.

 

When we finally reached the art room, we hurriedly went inside. Hirari wasn't there because Ery told her about the plan. As soon as the teacher went inside, Ery took out her rose. Piano keys appeared around the teacher and carried her back to the paper where she was drawn. I watched as smoke enveloped the teacher.

 

She was now just a drawing in the paper. I almost forgot that Ery's rose can summon piano keys. "Kazu... why don't you try and burn this paper?" She grinned at me. I didn't defy her. I just peacefully summoned my rose. My eyes widened when I saw fire come out of the orange portion of my rose. I pointed it at the piece of paper and it burned into ashes. "I can do that?" I couldn't absorb what just happened. "I knew it. You have multiple abilities. Yours is a rainbow, after all."

 

Ery sat down on a chair. "This is my own chair. I used to be the only one in this world so I drew everything on my own. Then one-by-one, my friends came." She said. I stood quietly beside her. We heard the door open and saw Ela come in. "... Guess we accomplished our mission." She reported. Ery stood up from her chair. "Anyways, I'll go to the principal's office to report this matter to Yue. I'll be back."

 

 

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I am the youngest among three girls.

 

My mom was a good woman and my dad takes good care of us. I don't have any problem with that, but the fact that I'm the youngest isn't an excuse to vent out all their anger at me. Whenever they don't have anyone to fight with, they start bullying me. Whenever I'm not really doing anything wrong, I'm still their target. My siblings, especially. It was okay. I was able to endure that. It's normal for teenagers.

 

But I had a burden.

 

My sisters did things that were disgraceful. That includes failing in class and having a wrong boyfriend at an early age and some things I don't want to think about anymore. I never did anything like that so my parents were expecting a lot from me. I did my best. I took university exams, joined a worldwide choir along with Ren, and studied well. I love my family so I did all these for them, but... I never felt supported.

 

I took classes I didn't want to take because I was forced to. They tell me to choose what I want my life to be but they end up choosing the wrong way for me. It went on forever. Still, I wanted to survive the world. Including the horrors of it.

 

The horror of falling in love was the worst. Ren and Kisa were right. It really was the worst.

 

I tried, okay? But there was nothing I could do. He was way too perfect. He had a fair complexion, almost-blonde hair, and looked amazing. He can play the guitar, piano, and he can even sing and dance. He always makes me laugh. He was crazy, I'm telling you. A good kind of crazy that made me fall. I tried to prevent it, okay? It was no use.

 

But I was invisible. I made a scrapbook filled with nothing but his pictures and our pictures together. I gave it to him and I was so happy when he appreciated it. He loved it and kept it. But that was it. I was invisible again. My efforts are all invisible, huh? My studies, the scrapbook, my will to choose my own future... they're all useless effort.

 

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Unlike Ren, Ela didn't cry. She just stared at the painting in front of her. "He was just like snow. You may think you have grasped him, but he just... melts away." She whispered. "My rose has a snowy kind of feel in it. It is baby blue with white tips." She laughed. I couldn't help it but smile. "The color of your rose is as calm as you are." I tried cheering her up. She's still my friend, after all. She looked at me and laughed softly. "I don't think your efforts were useless." I honestly told her.

 

She looked like she wanted to ask why so I cleared my throat. "I mean, I have to admit, you're not the only one with that kind of experience. I'm sure some real people who came to this world have been experiencing the same. But, Ela... I think you're stronger than them." I scratched my head, feeling embarrassed. That was so cheesy. "Because despite thinking that you were only making useless effort, you still did it anyway. It only means one thing -- you had hope."

 

 

Her eyes glowed upon hearing my words. Her lips were trembling. "... Hey, you're right. I mean, I wouldn't have done that if I didn't have hope, right?" She smiled. Finally, I saw tears form in her eyes. She refused to take her glasses off even so. "So why don't you just go with the flow. You worry too much about the future. Enjoy the present, Ela." I just said what I thought. It was nothing.

 

She let out a sigh of relief. "You really know how to wake up people, huh? Don't worry. I'll make everyone proud. All of you. Including him. I'll do that by my own efforts. Wait in the future, okay?" I watched her walk away from me slowly. Is she going to leave this world now?

 

"Hey. I have something to tell you." I told her. Yes, it's true. I've been trying to keep it a secret since I came here. I guess now's the time. She's waiting. "When I was staring at the painting in the art gallery... I think the guy you like was there. We are all in the same school so it was possible to see him there. He was holding a large book and was staring at The Painting." I waited for her to react. She was shivering already. "Just like the guy who loves Ren, that guy didn't see roses." I brought out my rose and held it out to her. "Look into my memory and see for yourself, Ela."

 

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In the memory, I was looking at the paintings. That guy was just standing there in front of a certain painting. "That's odd." He said to himself. He then opened the large book he was holding. "She looks like the girl in this picture."

 

I didn't know what he was saying since there was no girl in the painting. I just saw eight roses with different colors. "Hey..." He spoke to the painting as if it was real. "It says in this scrapbook that your name is Ela. Well... I don't know who you are, but... thank you."

 

 

He was about to leave but then he bowed down and said "If only you were real, I wish I could've loved you too. Thank you for your efforts... Ela."

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She let go of my rose and she finally took off her glasses. She used her handkerchief to dry her tears away. Her long curly hair danced as the wind blew into the room. "... I know it's impossible. But, I... like you said, I have even the tiniest sliver of hope in me."

 

Then she grabbed my arm and we jumped out the window. OF COURSE, I SCREAMED. WHO WOULDN'T?

 

 

We didn't die. We landed on our feet. That was awesome. I wish I didn't scream. Ela went out until the sun was shining on her. She took out her rose and it glowed. I felt droplets of water on my face. When I looked up, the sun hid behind the clouds. It was raining. I saw the students in the classrooms look outside the window. Was it the first time it rained here?

 

 

I even saw both Ery and Yue looking outside from the principal's office. Ren was in the classroom. Ela waved at them as she backed away from me slowly. "Tell them for me." Those were her last words.

 

 

 

Then she... just disappeared.

 

 

In the middle of the rain, I saw something falling from the sky. It looked like a snowflake. It fell right by a classroom's window so Ren was able to catch it. Ren walked away from the window hurriedly. Is that Ela's rose? Did she... leave this world?

 

 I quickly ran back to the entrance. Before I could get in, I saw Ren coming out of the school. That was fast. How'd she get here? She had a smile on her face and was holding the box she received. "... I should go, too." She gently said. I remembered Ela asking Ery about Ren’s rose and I wanted to figure it out myself. “Ren?” I called out. “Yes?” She then handed the box to me. I stared at the box in my hands blankly. “Your rose… what can it do?” I finally asked. She looked astonished, but then she just laughed. "Do you wanna know why I'm called 'Ren'? It was because it was raining when I was born. 'Ren' came from 'Rain'. So thank you once again, Kazuki. It was the first time that it rained here." She walked out to the rain, looking up the sky. “Ela wasn’t the one who made it rain… I did. Kazuki, let me tell you why I can make it rain. Rain is a symbol of silent love. My rose has the ability to spread out love. Each of our roses has a contribution to this world, an ability to control a part of the weather, and a weapon transformation. Try to figure out the other roses. You’ll see.” She explained. If that’s the case, what did Ela do back there?

 

 

"It was raining when I was born. And it will still rain now that I'll be reborn." Ren whispered to the rain. I blinked my eyes and she was no longer in sight.

 

After that, the rain weakened. The next thing that happened was that snowflakes started to fall from the sky. “… Ela’s rose made it snow?” I mumbled to myself, astounded by what they can do.

 

 

 

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We just sat there without saying anything. "... How did they leave? They just did the impossible." Hirari talked. "Do you think they don't want to be with us anymore?" Kisa had a bitter look on her face. Ery shook her head. "No. It's just... they found their reason for existence. That's all." She told them. Ery was staring out the window; no emotions could paint her face. “Ren is the one who made it possible to fall in love in this world even if it’s not real. That’s her rose’s ability.” She explained. “Ela, on the other hand, is responsible for bringing knowledge into this world. That explains everything.”

 

I looked at Haruma who was just right next to me.  "Was it my fault?" I asked him. I didn't want to ask anyone else because these are all Ela and Ren's friends.

 

Haruma didn't answer. He was staring at nowhere. I wonder what he's thinking about. "Hey, Haruma." I called out again. He suddenly snapped back to reality. "H-huh? Oh, hi." He rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "He's probably thinking about perverted things and the like." Rima smirked.

 

And here they go again.

 

"For a girl, you sure talk BIG!"

"What? I bet if Kazu didn't call your name, you'd be drooling by now!"

"How can I drool if you're the one in front of me? You have NO assets! None!"

"I AM A CUTE LITTLE HERO LADY! How dare you!"

"Huh? Say that again?"

"I'M CU--"

"For a girl, you sure talk BIIIIIG!"

 

Sometimes, I just don't know if they're idiots or if they just love hating each other. "Hey... Haruma... stop pulling on her cheeks. Those will droop." I interfered for the first time. Haruma quickly let go of her cheeks and Mari massaged her face in pain. "Uh... can you tell me what you were even thinking about?" There's no real reason why I wanted to know. It's just that Haruma has been absent-minded these days. Just a simple guy-to-guy talk won't hurt. "Hmm? Ah, it's nothing. Just a thing in my past." He assured me.

 

I looked at Gareki and Yue. They were here longer but they don't seem like they're that close to Haruma. "Wanna grab a drink?" I asked. Haruma chuckled softly. "Yeah."

 

We went to the music room. Haruma went straight to the piano. "The bass guitar and piano are the only things I can do." He told me as he played on the keys. "What do you mean by 'only'? I'm just average on guitar." It took me my pride to admit that, though. Haruma was really good with the two instruments.

 

"My life is nothing as big as the Rose people's lives. I was just a 19-year-old guy who was born in a wealthy family. I only had one regret. I wasn't able to save my sister." He stopped playing and I flinched. "She was bedridden. It happened 12 years ago. One day, our parents were out. My sister and I had a little fight that time." He continued. Even so, he still had that fake stupid smile on his face. "I ran out of the house because of too much anger... but when I came back, our house was already being engulfed by flames." I couldn't say anything to him. I didn't even know how to react. "It was her dream to play the piano. So I learned it for her here in this world. I don’t know how to play a piano in the real world… only in this world. Ery gave me that gift. All I could do was play the piano. But that can't bring her back, right?" He then stood up and gave me a pat on the back.

 

"It wasn't anything big. I told you before." He then motioned for us to go back to the theater room. I walked behind him and it had an awkward atmosphere. "In this world... if you manage to save someone, then will you... disappear?" I couldn't help but ask. He looked back at me and laughed. "Maybe. But people don't get sick here. Nobody's bedridden. So who am I going to save?"

 

 

 

I stopped walking all of the sudden. My last footstep echoed throughout the hallways. I remembered everything Dylan told me before. I get it!

 

 

"I want them to be like Rina."

 

 

 

Granting everyone the will to go back... giving them a chance to have the will to live again... their wishes and desires... fulfilling their regrets...

 

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I hurriedly ran to the dorms. Dylan was the only one of them who had his own room in the dorm, although he doesn't really sleep in it. I knocked on his door in panic. "Lani! Lani! Hey, I think I get what you mean now!" I yelled while knocking hard. Thankfully, it opened. He glared at me with a very annoyed expression. "What do you want now? And don’t call me ‘Lani’." He was scary, truth be told. "I think I now know how to make them go back!" I shook his shoulders excitedly while grinning widely.

 

 

6: 06 Music

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

I went back to the theater room with a grin on my face. One thing I noticed was that only four of them were there -- Haruma, Rima, Gareki, and Kisa. The second thing I noticed was that they were all looking at me like I was a serial killer. "... Um, what?" I immediately wiped the grin off my face. They didn't answer. Instead, Gareki pointed at something behind me.

 

I turned my head to look back. I saw strange people who were wearing white clothing. In the middle was a large, fat man. This man... I recall him being our former music teacher and the choir conductor in the real world. What's he doing here?

 

I backed away until I was finally behind Haruma. "We are going to perform in this room. Step aside." The conductor ordered in an eerie voice. We disliked this teacher so much back then. I still dislike him now and can somebody please tell me what he’s doing in this world? "It's fine. Then just perform right where you're standing." Haruma talked back. I can tell that there must be something going on. This choir and this conductor... they're not real, are they? Whose memories did they come from then? The conductor was staring down at Haruma, refusing to obey.

 

Haruma nudged Rima on the arm. "Hey, say something." He whispered. Rima suddenly stepped closer and yelled. "SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT, FATTY!" That's some guts. Haruma quickly pulled her and covered her whole head with a paper bag. "Not like that! You're too brave!" He growled at her. He then turned towards the fake people and sighed. "Leave."

 

The conductor gave us a cold glance before turning around and leaving with his precious choir. Just in time, Rima got the bag off her head. "I assume that those guys came from Ery's memories." Kisa pointed out. "The seven of us used to be part of that school choir. We all left because of that man." Her fists were trembling and she gritted her teeth. I know the story behind it. The school choir was once the home of these seven roses. It was the first world they escaped to before Ery made that painting, until everything started to get out of control. There are many terrible people in the real world and being used by these people is unavoidable. There are two ways to turn it around – escape or endure.

 

It looks like that choir is a really horrible memory. Even Rima looked so angry when she saw that man. "Hirari left that choir before anything traumatizing happened to her. That's what she told me, at least." Gareki spoke up in a subtle way. Haruma had his hand on his forehead. "Of all memories, why did Ery's memory have to appear? She has the worst."

 

 

Suddenly, Dylan came in the room. "This is horrible. That choir's trying to force all the students to listen to their shitty voices. We don't have much time. Ery's facing them alone."

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

"You've been sulking since your memory went berserk."

 

Instead of going straight to the soccer field, he went to her in the art room because she was still feeling bad about that memory. "I couldn't control it, okay?" She tried hiding her guilt but the boy saw through her mask. "Hirari, you really are the forgetful type. It's surprising that you're one of those people who have stable memories in the roses." He laughed. He walked towards her and held out his hand. Meanwhile, the girl just stared at it with a frown on her face. "Forgetful? Are you complimenting me or insulting me?"

 

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The soccer field greeted us with a terrible sight. The students on the field had their hands on their ears. Some were already screaming. Even though most of them weren't real, Hirari designed them to act like real people so there was no difference. The choir stood there in the middle with glowing red eyes. Ery must have really suffered a lot with these guys.

 

It was still raining. Ren's rain sure is powerful. Once again, we were all facing the choir. An unconscious Ery was being held captive by them. "She is a disgrace. She has to be punished." The conductor told us. "Let her go. She didn't even do anything wrong." Haruma had his confident smile upon his face. He was about to say something cooler when Rima interrupted. "I'M GOING TO PUT A CURSE ON YOUR UGLY FA--" She was cut off when Haruma used his arm to cover her face and put her in a headlock. "Can you contain your anger for once?!" He yelled once again.

 

 

I watched as the choir began to sing. I was expecting it to be a peaceful song but I forgot that they're actually Ery's bad memories. We all heard terrible whispering voices and horrible screeches. This is maddening! My head feels like it's going to burst. We all fell to the ground and covered our ears. I felt so dizzy to the point of feeling nauseous. "Haruma..." I called out when I saw him almost losing his consciousness. "H-hey, Kisa." Even Kisa was already shivering as if she was electrified.

 

 

I saw the conductor walking towards us. He had that dark aura surrounding him. "Why do you all want to be with a disgraceful woman such as her?" He asked with a demonic voice. This guy is more of a bastard than Yue or anyone here. It's no wonder everyone hates him. "... You've got to be kidding me..." Kisa was still trying to fight. I hated the sight. All of them went here to fight but now they can't even stand. It's a good thing Ela and Ren aren't here anymore. They will break down when they see this.

 

The conductor put a foot over Haruma's body. I forced myself to stand up before he could do something. "Don't you dare... call her disgraceful!" I charged at him and he fell. I towered over him, looking down with hateful eyes. I was just so angry that I didn't even know why I did that. "Even if you say that... no matter what she ever did to you, that was nothing compared to what you had done to her!" I was already yelling hard enough for everyone to hear. Ery opened her eyes and I can tell she didn't like the sight.

 

"... Choir, let's sing." He ordered. The choir opened their mouths once again to sing another psychotic song. I covered my ears and closed my eyes. I waited for the terrible sound... but all I heard was the sound of a violin. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Everyone else was looking at the direction of that music.

 

We all saw Gareki playing the violin in the rain. The rain lessened. I stared at him, amazed. Everyone was also wonderstruck. His actions never fail to surprise us. When the rain finally stopped, all we could see was a starless night sky. That was when the magic really started. Gareki's feet caught my attention because ochre and red lights were all coming from the ground. It caught me by surprise. The lights all flew across the sky. Who needs stars when you can create your own? Maybe that's what Gareki thought.

 

 

"... Those colors... it's just like Hirari's rose." I heard Haruma say. The lights covered the dark blue sky until the whole scene changed. We weren't in the field anymore. I found myself in a small house. I don't know what happened, but it's like all of this was just an illusion. "Mom!" I saw a little girl who looked exactly like Hirari. She ran through me. RIGHT THROUGH ME. I freaked out, of course!

 

 

She ran to a woman which must be her mom. "Mom... I want to be an artist when I grow up!" She seemed so excited and happy. "... Dear, art is just a hobby. Just leave everything to mommy, okay? I'll make sure you have a bright future. Art won’t make one successful." I wanted to say something, but they wouldn't be able to hear me. Hirari found what she wanted to do. She was happy just being surrounded by all her art works. That's her only sacred happiness! How come... how come it was taken away from her just like that?

 

 

"I want you to take a higher kind of learning when you grow up! Dear, just don't choose to be an artist, okay? Try Accountancy or Nursing. That's much better." Her mom is so nice. I don't really blame her mom for wanting her to be higher in place. You can’t blame a parent who only wants what’s best for her little girl. Blame Society, instead. Society is biased, after all. Still, art was Hirari's passion.

 

 

Her sacred happiness was taken away... just like that.

 

 

 

The memory I saw started to fade away until I was back in that same soccer field. "D-did you guys see..." Kisa asked. I have a hunch that Gareki made us all see Hirari's memory. It was then when the violin stopped. Gareki glared at the choir. He looked really, really angry. "To make such pathetic music... you don't deserve to be called musicians." He had venom dripping from his voice. He is still a musician, after all. "... Hirari... didn't stay long in that choir. It was a good thing. At least she now has the power to do this!" He played the highest note on his violin.

 

 

The ochre and red lights turned into humans. They were all holding instruments and they arranged themselves in an orchestral way. "Hirari drew all of these?" I asked myself. I didn't know that she had this much power. This is the first time I even saw her power! The lives of all these drawings come from those ochre and red lights -- her memories. "Ery, take out your piano." Gareki smirked. Ery was still watching the whole scene with wide eyes. She laughed and with a flash of red and white light, she sent the choir members away from her. "You better not touch me again." She hissed.

 

 

Her rose appeared before her and it turned into a set of red and white piano keys that floated in the air. She glanced at the conductor who was still on the ground, paralyzed by Gareki's music. "I don't need you to make my own music." Ery said. She started playing her piano and Gareki's orchestra followed her lead. The rest of us were too bewildered to even say anything. It was all amazing. Beautiful music, beautiful lights, and teamwork. This is what they were capable of and I never knew how powerful they can be until now.

 

 

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As soon as he entered the room, she greeted him with a huge smile on her face. "Gareki! I never knew you could do that! Well, sure you can make ochre and red lights come out, but how did you show them my memories?" She asked with a tone of excitement in her voice. Gareki shrugged his shoulders. "It was just an experiment. If it weren't for your rose, I couldn't have done that."

 

He opened the door and looked at her gently. "You wanted to make up for what that terror teacher did to them, right? I simply granted your wish." Then he motioned to the door. "Ladies first, Hirari."

 

 

Hirari sighed in relief. "Thank you for helping me."

 

 

7: 07 Inspire

Uncontrollable fate, I’m bound to an impossible storm

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It was odd. There was no one else in the theater room other than me and Ery. She was watching anime in the big screen while I just sat beside her awkwardly. It had a heavy atmosphere even though she was smiling at the screen the whole time. I was caught off-guard when she suddenly turned it off. "... Aren't you sleepy, Kazuki? It's 4am." She asked. Even in the real world, I don't really have the habit of sleeping early. "Um, no." I answered. She let out a long sigh. "Look, I'm not sure how you fulfilled Ela's and Ren's wishes, but... thank you for that."

 

I didn't want to be thanked for that. I wanted to fulfill all of them. Not just those two. "Kazuki... if I tell you my story, will you promise me not to break down?" She asked me with a serious face. I couldn't look at her. I wasn't sure if I still wanted to know her story. Seeing Hirari's was already sad enough for me. What more if I heard Ery's? Everyone said the same thing -- she had the worst.

 

"I... promise."

 

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I grew up into a family of geniuses. Of course I had to do my best to make a standing in my family. I grew up as a happy child, but I had this little experience that almost traumatized me. The first abuse I ever experienced was the most terrible abuse ever.

 

Sexual abuse.

 

 

I was 4. I don't remember much about that incident because everything seemed so blurry. He just lived near our house. I can't remember how he brought me to his house but he didn't look like he was in his right mind.

 

He was impatient so he went straight to the vital parts. I used up my strength to try and kick him away. I didn't cry. I just wanted to get away from him. Luckily, someone saved me before the worst could happen. I can't remember if she was holding a knife or something. Everything was all black and blurry at that time. She kept saying "I'm sorry." right after she saved me.

 

After that incident, I ran back to my house and locked myself up in the bathroom. I didn't go insane. I didn't even tell my family because I don't want to burden them with something so horrible. If you were a parent, how would you feel? After that whole experience, I became obsessed with reading Science books. I learned all about the body parts of a human being and was thankful that no successful sexual activity happened. I was safe.

 

It happened again when I was 8. I was at school when there was this college student. "Do you want to earn money?" That was what he asked me. I was too young to understand anything. Then he suddenly raised my skirt up and I ran away…

 

 

But as I grew up, things were just becoming worse. I had all the burden of being the youngest in my family of geniuses. I felt like all my achievements were already achieved by my brother and sister. I felt like everything wasn't enough. I did many things and honed many skills. Drawing, painting, piano, singing, and keeping my grades at the top. That's when I met the choir. The same choir who went berserk in our last battle. Remembering those days were… painful. Other people join choirs just to sing and dance. I didn’t. I joined because I needed to hold on to something. A duty. A tiny speck of peace.  

 

The choir was my second family. We were happy in that choir. It was the only place where we could feel like we belonged somewhere no matter how hard the experience. In that choir, I met Ela, Ren, Dylan, and Kisa. We had two advisors back then and they were like second parents. I was a happy person and I wasn't afraid to show everyone who I really am. I mean, this is me. Why should I change myself?

 

One day, one of our choir counselors was forced to change clubs by the principal. So she had to leave us in the hands of that man. At first, it was fine. Both Rima and Hirari joined in at that time. That was where our circle of friends formed, although Hirari left earlier. That was also when I was mentally-abused. I was abused in every way possible, remember?

 

I was the secretary, but that man made me do all the work. I was the kind of person who would kill herself trying to finish all her duties. I even sacrificed my church duties just so I could choose the choir. I drew all the costume designs, wrote all the files, arranged every single folder, and I even did my own musical pieces for the choir. I did everything I could and I hardly slept. But it was okay with me. This choir is my family.

 

The hardest part was that I was blamed for every single thing my friends did. That conductor always kept on making me feel so lowly. He always compares me to his most favorite members. He always yelled at me even if I wasn't even doing anything. But when he needed me to do all work again, he would smile sweetly at me just to persuade me to do work. I was so tired and I was already on the verge of mentally dying. In every mistake my friends do, he blames me. In every bad performance, he still blames me. I treated him like family, but he treated me like I was just a speck of dust compared to his shining diamond.

 

I thought it was finally over. Until Rima started to rebel.

 

 

Rima was the first to rebel among all of us. I understand that since she had her share of mental abuse from that man. Her mind got corrupted by his poisonous words but she fought through that. She never told us anything. She just hid it all. She just didn't want us to suffer the same in that choir as she did.

 

I desperately wanted to save her. I did it in the worst way possible. I didn't mean it. I was just so desperate. I was the only one she talked to about everything that had happened to her. Without her knowing, I sent our whole conversation to that man. I wanted to make him understand. I sacrificed Rima's trust just to make him understand what he's doing to us. I betrayed Rima just for that. He didn't understand. So once again, I took the blame for her actions and left the choir with Dylan and her. The three of us were all kicked out by that corrupted man. The worst part? He told us to stay away from Ela, Ren, and Kisa.

 

I thought it was all over. But it wasn't. There was still my family’s pride. My family started to scold me for my actions. I couldn't reach my brother or my sister no matter what I did. They all looked at me like I was so low. They just don't really know anything. I was completely broken. Abused and thrown away like dirt. I continued to study just so I could finally study in a college university and leave that hell of a place.

 

 

 

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I didn't even realize it but tears were already forming in my eyes. I promised her not to break down so I forced myself not to sob. Everything was just so... terrible. She was used. She had a burden of being the youngest in a family of geniuses. She was sexually abused. How did she even survive all these? If I were in her place, I would've completely lost myself. "Ery, you're strong." I was able to say that despite my voice breaking. She raised both her eyebrows. "Everyone here is strong." She smiled. How can she just smile like that? Ren and Ela cried. Kisa had the bitter look on her eyes. Why is Ery smiling like that?

 

"Don't feel sorry for me, Kazuki. Whatever happened to me made me who I am right now. My name is Ery. That's who I am." She nodded to me. "If you don't want people to feel sorry for you... why did you leave the real world?" That was probably a stupid question from me. She smacked me on the face. Geez, that hurt!

 

"You idiot. I only came here because I want to fight against my fate. I'm not afraid of life. I just really want to fight my cruel fate." I couldn't say anything else. But I do know one thing.

 

 

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I knocked hard on the door of the principal's office. Luckily, Yue was already awake. "Do you need anything?" He asked. He's a creepy bastard but I needed him for this. I quickly ran inside and locked the door behind me. "Yue, you know everything, don't you?" I asked sternly. He was confused for a second; unable to process what was going on. "Pardon?" He honestly was confused. No jokes. I didn't know that he was slow. "Everything! Their memories and the like."

 

Yue tilted his head and cupped his chin with his right hand. "You must be mistaken. I am human just like them. A complete stranger, too. I don't really know anything besides Ery's." He corrected. So I'm right. He knew Ery's story. "So how about you? Why are you here? Yue, Ery is the only person here you seem concerned about. Why?" I threw all the questions at him. I saw him flinch. I must have hit the right spot.

 

He turned his back toward me and smiled creepily. "You're smart." He told me. My heartbeat went faster when he took a pair of sharp scissors from his desk. He started snipping at the air. "In the real world, I study Law." He started. "I was born from a disgraceful pregnancy. My mother was a prostitute, you see. My father... had a different wife but she was unable to give birth to their own child. That's why my father made a deal with a prostitute. If she would be able to give him a child, he would pay her generously." My lungs tightened. Yue's calm voice transformed into a hateful one.

 

"I was physically abused by my stepmother. She couldn't accept the fact that my father had a child with a filthy woman. But whenever my father was home, she would act really nice to me. I didn't tell my father. What right do I have?" He suddenly chuckled. "Then one day... I didn't mean to do it. I was just a child, so I had to protect myself, right? She was trying to kill me... she raised a pair of scissors, but before she could stab me... I pushed her off the stairs."

 

 

My eyes were wide in shock. First, Hirari. Then, Ery. Now, it's Yue? How cruel can their childhood be? I looked down at my feet. "She died. And I held the guilt for the rest of my life. I studied Law, wishing I could justify my whole life... but I could never forget that day." He smiled at the scissors. "I despise scissors." He tossed it into the trash bin. I bowed down. "You wanted to justify Ery's life, too, right? That's why your whole concern here... is her."

 

I had my head down so I couldn't see Yue's face. I can still tell that he is smiling gently. It doesn't seem like a creepy smile anymore. It was a smile of forgiveness. "If you ask me, I have already forgiven myself, including my mother and father. I have also forgiven my stepmother. I would have been able to leave this world by now...but I can't. I want to save Ery. That's all." I looked up again, swallowing my saliva, wishing I wouldn’t say anything wrong. “Yue… before you came here… what did you see in that painting?” I asked, a bit averse. He chuckled lightly like the prince he was. “I saw my younger self giving a flower to a younger Ery.” He answered. I opened my mouth but no words came out. I wonder who Ery is to him. “I have no rose. I don’t remember anything about who she is to me. The only things we Rose-less people remember are all about ourselves and our lives, excluding if we are related to the Rose people in any way.”

 

 

 

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I walked along the corridors of the dorm quietly. After all, it's 5am in the morning. It took me a while to find Dylan's room. I knocked hard, trying to wake him up. It didn't open. When I was about to knock again, it opened and revealed a haggard Dylan inside. "IT'S 5AM, DAMMIT." He cursed. "Ah, sorry. But, I... think I need your help in this." I clasped my hands together in front of me and bowed my head down. It took Dylan 10 seconds before he sighed. "Come in."

 

Lani's room had K-pop posters all around. He sure is an avid fan. "What do you need me for?" He asked. I fiddled with my fingers and bit my lip. "Well, I want to... fulfill them all. Like what I did to Ren and Ela." I tried looking at him but he only had a bored look on his tired face. "I want to bring Ery back."

 

This time, he looked like as if he wanted to say the "F" word at me. "That's stupid. Ery won't leave until she finally gets justice." He yawned. "Yue is a law student in the real world. He's only here because he wants to justify Ery's life. He's just waiting for her to go back and he will do the rest." I tried explaining Yue's side of the bargain, hoping Dylan would understand. "That's even stupider. We never know where Yue lives in the real word. He has freaking blonde hair. He's a foreigner. How many miles apart is he from Ery?"

 

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 I breathed in a large amount of air before turning the knob. I could hear the guitar strings from inside the room. Inside, I found only Rima and Haruma. "Come on! You can play with your guitar later! Play something on the piano for me!" Mari was pulling Haruma's arm but to no avail. Haruma's annoyance was clearly shown on his face. "Since when did you start looking up to me?" He refused the request. Rima pouted. "Playing classical music increases sex appeal! I am the perfect proof since I play the piano." She declared. Oh, Rima. You're an embarrassment to nature.

 

Haruma looked at her from head to toe. "You mean that flat 'thing' in front of you and that straight frame? What planet calls that 'sex appeal'?" He had a really cool tone in his voice. I'm still trying to figure out how to approach them. I don't want to get involved in that argument. I'm always their innocent by-stander.

 

"WHAT? If I become a guy, I'm super sure that I'm hotter than you!"

"EXCUSE ME? Are you saying you're manlier as a guy?"

"Well, my chest IS flatter!"

"And you're proud of that?"

"Ha! It's the cutest size!"

"HOW THE HELL COULD I KNOW?"

 

Haruma turned to the door and thankfully, he saw me. "Oh, hey, Kazuki! What brings you here?" He changed mood so fast, but I was still not convinced. "Um... stop pinching her cheeks." I face-palmed. Haruma immediately let go of poor Rima who massaged her cheeks. "Well, I'm looking for Gareki. Why isn't he here in the music room?" I looked around, trying to see if his violin was around. "Ah, that guy? He must be in the auditorium." Haruma informed. I opened my mouth to say thanks but Rima tackled him to the ground.

 

 

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Bring it on!"

 

 

Of course, I quickly left. It was just a short walk to the auditorium. Gareki is a big loner. I walked past the classrooms and hid from the teachers. They were designed to act like real teachers, after all. I quickly ran the rest of the way until I finally reached the auditorium. As soon as I went in, I saw Gareki on-stage, about to start his solo performance. The first note made me freeze on my spot and I just stood there, listening.

 

He likes playing sad tunes. It's no wonder a happy girl like Hirari keeps on complaining about his taste of music. The song ended when he noticed me. "What are you doing here?" His voice echoed in the empty auditorium. I walked toward the stage. "I was just going to ask something." I told him. He didn't make a sign that he would answer so I continued talking. "Why do you only interact with Hirari?"

 

There was a moment of silence between us. He looked at his violin with no emotion on his face. "When I first met her, she drew me this violin even if she didn't know me. We never really talked much before unlike now." That was the longest sentence I had ever heard from this guy. "She made this violin. That is why it can emit ochre and red lights like the color of her rose. That is also why I was able to see her memories through this." If you ask me, it's like he owes his inspiration to Hirari.

 

"Do you... want to go back to the real world?" I asked, even though I knew that it was an insensitive question. Unlike the others, Gareki didn't look surprised when I asked him. "I damaged my eardrums in that world so I can't play as well as I can here. And I might not be able to hear her singing voice properly there." He confessed. I see. So he only wanted to hear her voice. Hirari's voice wasn't perfect and she was the first to leave that choir so she never actually trained her singing skills. Still, Gareki just wanted to hear her. I sense something fishy here.

 

I looked up at the ceiling then back to Gareki. "Why not play something for her?" I told him. It might not be the best way, but I'm pretty positive that Hirari might be closer to fulfillment if she hears him play for her. "I think she really likes it when you play." My words aren't enough to make this guy listen to me, but I honestly think it's working. Besides, once we all leave this place... we'll see the real world in a different point of view. I'm positive of it.

 

Gareki still had no emotion on his face. "She says she loves the violin although she didn't really get the chance to learn it." He positioned the violin on his shoulder. "But... I'll try." He started playing once again. I sighed in relief. Talking to that guy was hard. I turned to leave and report this matter to Dylan. I left the auditorium and closed the door behind me.

 

"What are you trying to do?" Someone shouted. I looked around to find where that voice came from and found Kisa. "Are you trying to make us all leave this place and go back to hell?" Her voice was bitter and angry. I was taken aback so no words came out of me. She summoned her rose and pointed it at me. I put both my hands in front of me in reflex. "K-Kisa! Are you trying to kill me?" I shouted. Her eyes were only filled with nothing but bitterness. "We'll die if we go back! You're only trying to make us come back because you want to go back yourself, right? How selfish can you get?" Her rose started to glow and I knew that it was a bad sign.

 

Dozens of ochre and red lights hit Kisa's rose and it fell from her hands. "Who--" Both of us turned our heads and saw Hirari. "Kisa, calm down! You're acting like a child!" She scolded. Kisa gritted her teeth, unable to accept that her friend just took my side. "Yes! That's what you all say! That I'm so childish and immature and insensitive! None of you really understand me!" She yelled back at Hirari. Crap, this is my entire fault. I knew I shouldn't get involved.

 

Despite everything, Hirari still had her innocent reaction. "You know if Ery found out, she'll scream 'IDIOT!' at you. Be thankful that it's just me." She bluntly said. Kisa growled before storming off. I spotted Kisa's rose on the ground so I decided to pick it up. "Sorry. She's just confused." Hirari said. "Ah, no. It's okay. I understand." I smiled awkwardly as I held Kisa's rose with my left hand. Hirari groaned in reply.

 

"What were you doing in the auditorium, anyway?" She asked me. I suddenly remembered why I was here in the first place. Crap, I can't tell her that! Gareki's probably going to kill me. "I was, uh, conducting for Gareki." That was so lame that I fought the urge to face-palm. Hirari was just blinking normally. Thank goodness she didn't suspect a thing. "Gareki has such great talent, but he said he didn't get to play the violin like this in the real world so he takes the chance to play here everyday. He never told me why." Hirari looked a bit sad. That bastard Gareki. He's making the girl worry too much.

 

I gulped, trying to prevent myself from saying anything obvious. "Hey. If something bad happens to his music... what will you do?" We walked along the corridors as we went on with our conversation. She questioningly stared at me. "You mean... if one day, he won't be able to make music anymore?" She squinted and looked back at the hallways. "Then I'll make music for him."

 

Upon hearing her answer, I knew that Hirari really is an optimistic one. Even if she had her own share of a life where she won't draw figures in the future, she still believes in the good side of life. That is a good start. Forget about Gareki helping her leave this world. It should be the other way around. She can help Gareki live as an aspiring musician again. "Hey, Hirari. You're in-charge of this world's appearance, right? Can you make a lake in the middle of the forest?"

 

She was now looking at me as if I was a crazy person once again. I should practice my acting skills. "There's already a lake there. Ery made it before I even came here. Why?" Oh. So there is already a lake. This is just perfect! I smiled widely, accidentally creeping her out even more. "Can you go to that lake tomorrow night? Don't worry. I'll be there, too. Trust me in this."