My Twin Stepsisters Are Way Too Yandere!

Pain.

This was the first thing Kuro realized.

A dull throbbing pain that pulsed behind his eyes.

His head felt incredibly heavy.

Just moving his eyes opened it to agony.

---

White ceiling.

Timber beams.

Sunlight filtered through the paper screen.

Familiar surroundings.

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"... What?"

He spoke in a low tone.

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As soon as he spoke, everyone suddenly jumped to their feet.

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"Kuro!"

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The yell hurt his headache even more.

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Before he had a chance to respond, Akari hovered right above him.

Too close.

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"HE’S ALIVE."

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"I am not dead."

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"A sure sign of an almost-death experience."

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"I just tripped."

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"You were unconscious!"

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Kuro winced.

A mistake.

His head immediately punished him for this.

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Exactly one second later, Mina gently pushed Akari back.

"Gimme some space."

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Akari retreated, but only slightly.

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The rest of the group gathered around.

Mina.

Rika.

Aoi.

Yui.

Even Minami.

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They all looked relieved.

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This was enough to tell Kuro that something had happened.

Something big.

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"... How long?"

he asked softly.

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Aoi answered immediately.

"About nine hours."

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Kuro blinked.

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"Nine?"

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"You were found by a local hiker at 5:43 AM."

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"Very specific."

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"I asked."

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Well of course she did.

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The memories started coming back.

The mountain.

The mist.

The trail.

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Then...

The girl.

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Kuro immediately sat up.

An extremely bad idea.

The room started spinning.

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"Easy."

Minami stepped up.

"The doctor said you have a mild concussion."

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"... Right."

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The memory hit him like a wave.

The rocky slope.

The fall.

The bell.

The voice.

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The girl.

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Kuro frowned.

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"There was someone else with me."

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Silence.

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Everyone turned to look at him.

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"What?"

Akari asked.

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"There was a girl."

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The room fell silent.

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Kuro told the whole story.

The footsteps.

The bell.

The bracelet.

The fall.

Saving her.

The voice.

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When he was done...

There was an instant silence.

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First Akari.

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"... So."

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She leaned forward.

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"You are telling us."

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"That at exactly midnight."

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"On the mountain."

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"You saw a mysterious beautiful girl from the famous soulmate legend."

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"... Maybe."

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Akari slammed both of her palms on the table.

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"THIS IS THE GREATEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED."

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"No."

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"It absolutely is."

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Rika was already sketching.

As usual.

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Kuro was not surprised anymore.

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The latest title of her drawing read:

THE GIRL OF THE MIDNIGHT BELL

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"... You are crazy."

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"Thank you."

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"I wasn’t praising you."

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"I prefer to take it this way."

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On the other hand, Aoi adjusted her glasses.

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"I think there are other possible explanations."

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Kuro already knew what was coming next.

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"Such as?"

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"You were tired."

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"Sure."

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"You got a head injury."

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"True."

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"You were affected by the local legend."

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"..."

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"In that case a fatigue-induced hallucination becomes more likely."

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Akari gasped.

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"You can’t deny destiny using statistics."

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"I literally can."

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"No."

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"Yes."

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The argument started all over again.

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Minami quietly massaged her forehead.

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"I knew that this trip would become a headache."

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Kuro paid them no attention.

His mind wandered somewhere else.

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Because he knew what he remembered.

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The expression of the girl.

Her panicked eyes.

The feeling of grabbing her hand.

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These memories felt so real.

Too real.

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A hallucination could not feel like this.

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Or maybe it could?

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For the first time since he woke up...

Doubts started creeping in his mind.

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What if Aoi was right?

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What if it was just an illusion?

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The thought annoyed him more than he expected.

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On the other side of the room, Yui remained unusually quiet.

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She did not laugh.

Did not argue.

Did not tease him.

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She just listened.

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Watching.

Thinking.

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At last, she spoke.

Quietly.

Almost whispering to herself.

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"... I don’t know."

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Everyone turned to look at her.

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Yui paused.

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Then looked down.

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"I have this feeling."

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Everyone went silent.

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Yui felt uneasy under all their looks.

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"I cannot explain it."

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"I do not have any proof."

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"But..."

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Her fingers clenched slightly.

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"When I woke up today..."

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"I had this weird feeling."

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"Someone was missing."

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Nobody laughed.

Not even Akari.

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Because somehow...

The way Yui said this felt genuine.

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And it unnerved Kuro even more.

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If there was no girl...

Then why does a small part of him still feel like he has left someone behind?

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The question remained in the air.

Unanswered.

Uncomfortable.

And impossible to ignore.

And the discussion finally continued.

At least... Everyone pretended it did.

---

Akari talked about destiny again.

Rika continued drawing manga panels fast as hell.

Aoi kept thinking logically.

Minami tried to keep the order.

Mina tried to ensure Kuro would get enough rest.

---

Yui seemed to be looking at Kuro from time to time.

Like she wanted to say something.

But didn’t know how.

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In the meantime...

Kuro just sat on his futon.

Thinking.

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The memory wouldn’t go away.

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He remembered the cold mountain air.

The moonlight.

The sensation of holding someone’s hand.

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The most important thing, though...

He remembered her voice.

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"Thank you."

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It sounded so real.

So tangible.

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Was it even possible for a hallucination to stay so fresh?

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The more Kuro thought about it...

The more confused he got.

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By midday, the local doctor had arrived once again.

The diagnosis was the same.

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Mild concussion.

Several bruises.

Some scratches.

No life-threatening injuries whatsoever.

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"Rest."

It was what the doctor ordered.

No mountain climbing.

No running.

No unnecessary activities.

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Akari raised her hand.

"Define unnecessary."

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The doctor looked at her.

Then at the notebook with:

Operation Destiny

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"...All you’re trying to do."

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Everyone even laughed at it.

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That evening they all had dinner.

With the more relaxed atmosphere, since Kuro was already awake.

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Akari somehow managed to turn Kuro’s accident into a funny story.

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"And he dramatically fell off a mountain."

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"I did not dramatically fall."

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"You definitely did."

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"I slipped."

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"The mountain disliked the fact that he doesn’t believe in destiny."

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Aoi immediately interrupted.

"Mountains aren’t able to make emotional judgments."

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"How do you know?"

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"Because that sentence is ridiculous."

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Rika suddenly looked thoughtful.

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"This would work as a nice Chapter."

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Of course it would.

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Kuro just sighed.

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There are some things which never change.

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For a while...

The familiar banter distracted him a little bit.

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The unusual sensations in his chest started to fade.

And the uncertainty became easier to deal with.

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Perhaps Aoi was right?

Perhaps the combination of exhaustion and a concussion made him imagine some additional details.

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This was actually quite possible.

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After dinner, everyone went their separate ways.

Some went to their own rooms.

Others stayed in the main area of the dormitory.

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Kuro ended up in one of the quiet corridors with the view to the courtyard.

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Soft evening sky above the Mount Fuji.

Glowing lanterns in the garden.

Peaceful atmosphere.

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Kuro looked at the mountain without a sound.

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"...Who were you?"

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The question left his lips before Kuro could stop it.

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Nobody answered.

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Only the distant sound of wind.

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Kuro smiled cynically.

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"Yes."

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Indeed, this was to be expected.

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He looked down.

Running absent-mindedly his finger along the wrist.

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Then he paused.

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"...What?"

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It felt somehow strange.

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He lifted his sleeve.

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There.

On his wrist.

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Some kind of bruise.

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Small.

Circular.

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Kuro frowned.

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He hadn’t noticed any injury like this.

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Also, the bruise wasn’t random.

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Its shape was too unusual.

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Too pattern-like.

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He moved closer to the lantern light.

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The very moment Kuro looked at the bruise...

He froze.

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The mark resembled a tiny bell.

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Not perfectly.

But enough.

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And enough to make Kuro’s stomach clench.

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A memory popped up in his head.

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Silver bells.

Bra...

A bracelet.

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The moonlight.

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Chime.

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Echoed through the head.

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Kuro stared at the mark on his wrist.

Unable to look away.

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If there was no such girl...

Where this bruise came from then?

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The mark wasn’t evidence of anything.

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Not at all.

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And still...

For some unknown reason...

It felt somehow important.

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There was a gentle breeze coming through the corridor behind him.

Carrying the sound of the wind chimes from somewhere outside.

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For a second...

Kuro thought he heard that familiar chime.

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Chime.

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He instantly turned around.

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Nobody was here.

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Just the empty corridor.

The mountain.

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And the growing sensation that the mystery was far from being over.

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Somewhere far away, hidden somewhere among the forests of the Mount Fuji...

A small silver bell rang in the silent night.

As if answering the question nobody remembered anymore.

However, later that night, when all the members were asleep, Yui failed to doze off.

The room was silent.

Only the sound of sleeping could be heard in the dark.

Yui rolled on her futon.

Then she did it once more.

Sleep didn’t want to come.

---

At last, she raised herself and gazed at the window where the light of the moon shone.

The majestic Mount Fuji was visible under the starry sky.

For some reason, Yui suddenly felt strange heaviness inside her chest.

It wasn’t painful.

But rather...unsettling.

---

Yui shut her eyes.

Trying to remember.

Everything.

Somebody.

Some voice.

Some feeling.

---

Nothing came.

Only this vague feeling that something happened.

Something everyone forgot.

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"...Why?"

whispered she.

---

She couldn’t understand it.

Logically speaking, she should agree with Aoi.

Surely, Kuro was tired and he hurt himself.

It is normal that he started hallucinating.

---

Yet...

When thinking about Kuro lying unconscious on the mountain road...

Suddenly this strange feeling of sadness appeared.

As if somebody remained alone somewhere.

---

Yui opened her eyes.

The light of the moon reflected in them.

---

Far away, in the mountain air, she could hear a very faint sound of something ringing.

It was like a little bell.

Soft.

Silent.

So hard to hear.

---

All of sudden, Yui turned toward the window.

"...Was I imagining it?"

This sound vanished leaving only the silence behind.