✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

「Let’s go back around 3 seconds.

I immediately knew things weren’t going to work out the way I was expecting, so I had to mentally change my plan for the time being, albeit slightly. The silver lining is that I've always been prepared in advance for such contingencies.

The moment I received that notification, my eyes widened ever so slightly and everything seemed to decelerate, as if time instantly stopped (all of this was of course a figure of speech). Concentration shooting through the roof as the neurons within my brain diffused and shot neurotransmitters at the fastest speeds possible, my agile hands seemed to glide over the keyboard in reflex, swaying from perception in reality as fast as humanly possible.

Holding down control + F4 on my keyboard simultaneously closed all the tabs I had open, except for one tab which had to be left.

Pressing another combination of keys initiated a macro which had whitelisted the website and the rest of that tab’s previous history entries as IP exclusions from the IPSPB program (short for Internet Service Provider Protocol Blacklister) running whilst it was hidden deeply within the OS.

For those wondering why I didn’t just use a VPN instead: they leave so many goddamn obvious traces behind in a multitude of ways in which I couldn’t ever dare to risk. A system-embedded software is a million times less conspicuous and harder to locate, so it was the only viable option.

This resulted in all the IPs that one tab had been connected to by our ISP to be tracked, they were logged onto 192.168.1.12; on the admin interface panel – for Yuki’s convenience, on the occasion that she ever does an inspection through previous online connections (though that is very, very, very unlikely).

I took up a bottle of fruit juice and inserted a hand into my pockets.

All done within 2.3 seconds.」

˹ "Oh! That was impressive! I think Sora might juuust be able to get away with it… I think?”

It was then that…

…the doors behind Sora had slid open. ˼

“Hnnnnn... Nii-chaaaaan?”

「Standing there was my little sister – Yuki. With a dreamy, half-awake look on her peaceful face, she peered into the room. Donning her eidolic figure was a risqué nightwear gown and her inky black hair flowing down to waist length.

Alright, time to act as absolutely nonchalant as possible about her intrusion.

I innocently turn around while deciding to first apologise to her for ruining the young girl’s beauty sleep. After all, there’s the chance that I might have accidentally woken her up. The need to placate her is of utmost precedence and required to done first.」

“Ah, Yuki? I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

“Nnn… Not at all… What're you doing in here?”

「Rubbing her eyes, she inquisitively asked as she tried to peer at the monitor behind me. I'm already getting the premonition that she's trying to bore a hole through my abrogative plans.」

“Watching anime? Or is it hentai?”

「My little sister asked with such a complacent inflection that anyone would have normally taken to her question without thought, unless you paid attention to the nuance behind her wording. And I almost fell for it.」

˹ “Pfft?! ‘Hentai’ she says!! Ahahaha!!!” ˼

“Mhm, that’s righ- WAIT NO IT ISN’T?!? I was just about to launch Azure Rule1… you know, that new JRPGMMO that released a few days ago, so I thought of getting ahead in experiencing the gam–“

˹ “Sora fell for it!!! He really did!? Ahahaha!!! I can’t stop laughing!” ˼

“Hehe... is that really true? Hmm~? An Azure Rule stream? Why don’t you play the game’s open beta instead of just watching some stream? You have the early release, don’t you?”

「Yuki compounded on all this as her eyes narrowed down to a thickness of a few millimetres with a playful grin on her face, moving her gaze all around to each of the monitors. I swear she only just woke up? Am I missing something? This is one heck of a way to be running on thin ice...」

˹ “Ahh… my stomach hurts from laughing… Sora, you really are on thin ice!” ˼

“Yeah, I do. That's what I was planning on doing but now I’m not in the mood to play anymore. Maybe tomorrow and just so you know, there’s nothing behind the other monitors…”

“Guess you won’t mind me turning these on then, right? Fufu~”

「She’s just gonna waste her energy. Thankfully enough, I had a stream open only on one tab. That way, even if she went as far as checking other things, I’d have a clear ‘view time’ record on the stream, which I can use to surreptitiously escape any pedantic suspicion.

Who was I kidding after all? Teehee...

I'm sure my face has a smile wry enough to give away my blatant white lie, expressing the truth of the matter. But Yuki wouldn’t (hopefully she shouldn’t) be able to see through the underlying façade. So, with a shrug, I casually brushed it aside.」

˹ “Yuki-chan won’t see through it. I doubt an Ulma would be able to get through such sophisticated registries…” ˼

“Anyway, I've gotten kinda bored watching the stream. Since you woke up, wanna catch up on the finales airing this week?”

˹ “Hou… feigning ignorance huh? I’m really tempted to activate my precognition right now…” ˼

“U-unnnnnnnn, sure... another great season and all its stunningly good anime airing right now are about to end relatively soon. How sad...”

「In an artificially teary voice, my little sister pretended to exaggerate the sort of histrionic hand gestures you'd see when someone fainted in old drama movies.」

“In that case, we might as well finish them now rather than later before next season starts. The beginning of 2021 is being made out to be another fully packed season.”

“Fuwaaa~ it really is, Winter 2020 seems so promising. Another quarter full of renewed anime next cour. Unless everything gets delayed once again like this year, fufu ~”

˹ “S-scary…”

With a yawn, Yuki-chan ended up slipping out a terrifying thought that was better left unsaid. It could preemptively scare a lot of fans and viewers patient enough to eagerly wait for the new batch of episodes to drop the following year. She really hasn’t changed at all. If I were my other self, I might have frozen in shock at that idea as well… ˼

「She even slighted a laugh at the end... that's one hell of a scary thought better off left unentertained. Both the idea of another prolonging and a second viral outbreak. Wait, maybe it might be better because it would equate to more time watching anime. Who knows? Cuz I certainly don’t.

The year 2020 was a disastrous year in which the pandemic known as SARS-CoV-2 spread all across the globe, causing the first ever global lockdown. It wasn’t really as dangerous a virus as it was infectious. But it was enough to give the whole world a pretty good scare.

The perfect time for even more chaos to emerge all around the world.

All sorts of crazy shit happened right off the bat at the start of the year, more than enough for the history books in 50 years’ time… see what I did there?

And now, London is currently in its second lockdown after the first was lifted and once more, the virus started spreading to all corners of each city around the planet.」

˹ “Hmm… so this planet has been affected by a virus? Oh! I get the joke! Cuz a bat started the whole endemic?? That’s a good one!!”

But to that think Ulmas are so that even weak, microscopic beings could kill them… Depending on the pathogen, there’ll be many without resistance. That’s just kinda sad. Humans can’t even make themselves resistance with magic. ˼

“Please don’t jinx it, Yuuuuki-chan... a lot of us out there had to go through quite the amount of pain waiting a whole 3 months longer for all the hyped anime to resume airing thanks to the virus and self-quarantining. No one wants another delay flag being set off all of a sudden like that, even if you don’t end up calling it… Anyway, if we're gonna watch, we should move to the lounge... there's enough snacks to go around for both of us.”

”Hnnng, lemme just get changed, then we can– uwaahhh, what the heck??? You’ve even got all these drinks and junk food around as well... you should be having a proper lunch right now instead…”

˹ “She’s right y’know? Heck, who am I even saying all this to?” ˼

「Pursing her lips in a pout whilst looking down on the slightly ajar drawer containing all the consumable snacks I placed there. Yuki lightly told me off as she opened it in a bit of a louder voice in what pretty much amounted to quiet shriek – albeit waaaay too late – for my unhealthy afternoon snack scavenging. She then steadily backed away.」

“Ahaha, guess you’re right. But that can be saved for later, right?”

“Nnnnn, I suppose…?”

「Reluctantly nodding off a reply in the affirmative, albeit in a ponderous tone, she glided across to the right and pulled away the ultramarine curtains (the flip side had a royal purple colour) before she returned them by sliding it back to its original position. She disappeared to the other side that led to her area, the layout of which mirrored my side. A couple moments later, the soft mechanical whir of the door on the other side could be heard opening and closing with a resonance pleasant on the ears.

Just about reprieved myself from a world of pain... now I'll have to tolerate re-watching maybe a couple episodes worth approximately 24 minutes each... which it isn’t going to be that difficult since it’s not much work for a seasoned veteran otaku to watch the plethora of shows contained in a season, including large, ongoing anime that continue to air weekly regardless, but those anime release on the other days of the week.」

˹ “Aww… how unfortunate.” ˼

「In the meantime, I guess I’ll be doing a few things on my own for a bit then I’ll head to the little home theatre in the lounge later.

But for the second time, my mind was forcibly made to grind to a halt once again as I received a ping in the form of a desktop notification on my system tray. A cyan blue dot appeared over the icon for Discord, an instant messaging and communication platform tailored for users of myriads of audiences.

Launching up Discord, it seemed that a user with the image of a kawaii chibi-ko on her profile avatar had sent me a message. I instantly knew who it was; her name was even written in katakana.

But it was an incredibly incredulous sight… I mean after all–

–it was Sonia…」

˹ “Hm? Sonia-san? Oh right, she actually lives here.”

Heck, I even tilted my head downwards and looked through the floors to her apartment. ˼

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎Today at 14:32

SORA, HAVE U SEEN THE LAST EPISODE OF MAGIC INSURGENCE!!?!??!>!?!> (edited)』

「What came flying into my sight was a sentence in all caps that was probably typed out in a rush. Hell, it even got overwritten live, right in front of me. Well, guess she didn’t even bother correcting the exclamatory part at the end… The look on my face probably radiated off the same vibe as a simple ‘lol’ with little to no energy behind it, and her most likely being the polar opposite.」

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎Today at 14:32

no, not yet at least… did something happen in the last episode?』

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:33

hmm… idk if i should say or not… ur bound to get pissed at the end XDDD』

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:33

smhhhh… i can already feel the cliffhanger ending, even without the suggestive hint… been obvious with the bad pacing』

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:33

XDD

there’s more to it than just that… well let’s just leave it for later then

i wanna talk about it at your place

might even go up to the roof when you two practice like always, just slept the morning away』

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:34

yea cool, but u sure? it’s raining outside yanno? it’ll be as cold as the arctic winds out there in the open breeze while it rains

it’s probably not going to ease off till 3, its better for you to stay at ours instead of coming up… if you want us to hear ur profound chuunibyou theories, we could listen before we start practice btw… :D』

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:34

idm at all… still wanna talk afterwards, it’s necessary

in fact i wanna get in some swings as well and watch you two practice

AND WDYM BY ‘chuunibyou’, HUH???? 💢』

「Oops, kinda made her mad LOL. Well not kinda, maybe a little bit angry, but I just had to poke at her sides... Couldn’t help myself ~ ~ ~」

˹ “Idiot.” ˼

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:35

what's the plan this time??

LOOL im jk

come around whenever you want』

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:35

hope you don’t mind me intruding then! ♡

btw ur more of a chuuni than i am when u get into it so u have no right to call me one, kuuhaku-san…♡』

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:35

HUH?!? that’s right isn’t it? ***** ** *** ♡』

「Gonna hafta emit that part....... I'm sure to be killed in cold blood if I didn’t.」

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:36

ahahaha whaaaaat???? ur fuckin on

come outside we’ll 1v1 with wooden swords and i’ll defeat u with ur own specialty』

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:36‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

oh? are u approaching me? instead of retreating, ur coming straight up to me?』

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:36‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

can’t beat the shit outta u without being closer』

ゴ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:37

then come as close as u want‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

…yea right like u could

that aint happening in a million years, the student beating the sensei wwwww』

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ゴ

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:37

(╬ Ò ‸ Ó) i’ll get in a win this time for sure!』

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:38

yh yh, ur a long way away from being skillful enough to the point where you could even go toe to toe with us :>

anyway, been meaning to ask, but u were asleep in the morning?』

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:38

:

hmm? oh right…

about that, i had a nightmare just a while ago… and after that i suddenly woke up around 12』

「I thought that it might have been a convenient coincidence that she was up at the same time as us nocturnal beings, but a nightmare huh? She’s more of a morning person so there’s that.」

˹ “No. That’s because… she’s also experiencing it. I’m not surprised.” ˼

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:38

o,o u alright?』

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:39

yea im fine but it was a really odd nightmare…

i was right in the middle of an old mansion in some remote place i couldn’t recognise and all of a sudden a hugeeeeeee fire started blazing before it belatedly burnt down everything

hella strange lol』

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:39

must’ve been a pretty bad dream if you of all people aren’t sleeping rn XDDD』

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:39

other than that, i don’t remember much beyond that tho

and just what’s that supposed to mean?!!?!』

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:39

nothing much, you’re just a sleepyhead so it must be something pretty shocking to keep you from sleeping again ^w^

couldn’t bring myself to believe it when i saw u online rn

but an infernal nightmare… what do you think it meant? what might have you forgotten?』

『ソニア‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Today at 14:40

an epiphany for an impending phantasmagoria!!!!!!!

W8 U DID THAT ON PURPOSE DIDNT U?!!??!

fck, but anyways im clueless here tbh, there’s nothing much i can make out from such a weird dream, there’s no way i would just conveniently know what i forgot… XD

well forget about it, hurry up and watch, then let’s talk at your place

oh, and can i get an entrance pass? there’s something i want to leave at your place first

i’ll be there 15 mins to 4, so please do leave before i arrive, got a lil surprise』

『空白‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Today at 14:40

yea sure

i’ll send u the temporary pass soon

ttyl then』

「’Talk to you later’, and with that signaling the end of our conversation, Sonia’s activity status had soon transitioned via a fade from a verdant green over to a pure grey circle to indicate that she was now offline.

Although it took me some time to figure out what she might have meant by ‘something’. Whatever it is, I hope it isn’t something too crazy. I don’t think I’d be able to guess at what it might be.」

˹ “I’m pretty sure you could… though one would normally be suspicious.” ˼

「Taking up my phone from the desk on the left, I sent a wireless, encrypted code which would activate out at the front door and act as something like a one-time key, before placing it in my hoodie’s pocket.

Yuki came back a short while later as she re-entered the room through the same route she had taken to leave.」

“Nii-chan, are you coming?”

「Popping her head out of the curtain, Yuki inquired as she came back wearing a warm-looking black turtleneck jumper made of 100% cotton and similarly coloured tight joggers.

It’s a given that the winter solstice is quite near – which is an understatement since you might have been thinking in a couple days time right? Wrong, it’s today (it was around 9 hours ago) so by now it’d only be common sense for one to wear clothes that absorb heat well while trapping it.

Her appearance before my eyes made it dawn upon me once more, that the whole apartment was fucking freezing like being submerged in cooled, condensed liquid nitrogen.」

“Nooooooo, it’s gonna be so cold there...”

「Thanks to that, I lost the will to even bother moving beyond this room and my seat. I could already imagine the extremely low room temperature forcing my body into vasoconstriction. The sensation of floating in suspension as all your nerves numbed in dissonance.」

“I turned on the central heating. Should be fine.”

-════════════════-

「And just like that, we're back at the living room once again. At a glance, I could tell that the hydronic underfloor central heating had kicked in.

Thermal convection for the win.

Yuki sat herself down wherever she saw fit on the couch as the projector started loading itself up. While doing so, she brought up a bright smile on her face with lilies popping up in the background. Transporting the snacks and getting a flask of still water from the sink was a long process.

I looked out into the distance at the tip of the glass building named after its construct which entered my line of sight. It’s just a few meters shorter than this skyscraper. It goes to show just how high up the Aspire Tower was – almost 300 meters!

And in that very skyscraper, we lived on the top floor.

Until I reached close enough for the rain to start refracting ever so slightly, there seemed to be translucent raindrops dotting the panes. They streaked down the sliding doors made of transparent glass from floor to ceiling, like they were racing to see who would reach the ground the quickest.

The cacophony of droplets pelting against the windows and out on the balcony. I could hear the light shower of rain as I stood right in front of the clear panes.

A diffusion of chrysalism seemed to instantly spill into the living room via the ceiling despite the impossibility of there being a leakage.

Even this weather alone wouldn’t be enough to stop us from our routine sword practice. Just a little before before sunset falls, we’ll be going up to the rooftop garden. Apartment residents are normally allowed access to the rooftop garden, but it’s seldom in use by others. So, we take it upon ourselves to utilise such an open plateau at the top of the skyscraper like students who intruded upon the locked and fenced area above their school building. I bet there’re loads of puddles up there.

Turning on my phone, I glanced into the weather forecast, which indicated that the rain started to precipitate at some time past 11:00. It’d be ending sometime around 15:00 – which means we won’t need to swing around our swords in the rain.

Seems I didn’t notice it earlier. Wasn’t focusing on my surroundings too much after all. Stood stock still, I took in the serene atmosphere that clouded over the overcast skies.

Quite the pluviophile I am, it seems.

A few moments later, I broke out of my reverie.」

“Nii-chan?”

“Ah… sorry.”

「Having set everything down on the tea table in the middle, Yuki called out to me.

I went over and drew down the white screen that spanned 120 inches diagonally as the load up screen projected itself onto the smooth screen as white as natural silk.

Yuki had her own bezel-less phone with her and cast her screen to the projector, which correspondingly displayed her device’s home screen with the drop-down notification panel extended to her quick settings, which she used to turn on ‘screen sharing’. She took the opportunity to turn off the lighting in the room so that the cinematic setting could be accentuated further. And the blinds. Sunlight is cancer when you want a good viewing experience.」

“Yuki, how about we watch Magic Insurgence last? Sonia said there’s something she wanted to talk about with us later.”

“Mhm… sure thin– wait, when did you have time to talk with Sonia-neesan?”

「Yuki tilting her head was enough to communicate her confusion by that sudden revelation.」

“I texted her just before we came here…”

“Ohhhhh? So that’s why it took you so long. What were you texting Nee-san about? Just the usual flirt, or even more than that?”

「The look in Yuki’s eyes, the colour of deep space, sharpened with an inquisitive glint and a playful smile spread on her mouth and lips as I took my own seat beside her.」

“Wasn’t flirting, I was just teasing her a little.”

“…So you were flirting?”

“N-No… not really… there was nothing coquettish about it... Just playful teasing doesn’t, or shouldn’t count as flirting… right?”

“…No, it still counts…”

˹ “It counts. Sora, you just dug your own grave here…” ˼

“Huh, no it doesn’t!?!?”

˹ “And I have no idea why I’m still here. Oh well, might as well continue spectating this sibling drama!” ˼

“Nii-chan…”

「Saddling up close to me, her dissatisfaction was evidently written over face as with each reply. Her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel’s as she inched closer and closer till she was right up in my face. In a fluster, I had to concede this time while turning my face away…」

“Alright, fine, y-you could say I was flirting… thought it wasn’t suggestive or anything.”

“Hmm… really? I’m not going to let you two fall for each other just yet y’know?!?! HEHE!!!”

「Just like that, she jumped right into my chest while bear-hugging me to near asphyxiation. A second longer and I might actually [email protected]:#:」

˹ “Oh!?! Are you really going to die however?!” ˼

“W-what are you on about!!!?!?”

「Wrenching her off by her shoulders, I held her at an arm’s length before addressing another issue that needed to be said.」

“By the way, Sonia’s going to be coming later. I gave her a temporary pass so that she can come when we’re on the roof. Apparently, she needed to leave something here…”

「I told her about the part where Sonia would be coming over to our place… just like that–

–My little sister’s jestful smile ended up distorting into a frown frozen from itself, along with the air and everything around in the environs, as her absolute zero gaze (which definitely wasn’t smiling in the slightest bit) darkened and dropped a few degrees beneath zero as if she were trying to freeze me to death with just her eyesight alo- wait that contradicts what I said earlier?!?!

The heating alone won’t thaw that accusatory look she fired off nor would it save me this time…

So as the victim to her icy stare, I ended up divulging the contents of our talk to Yuki.」

˹ “Sora sure is a genius… a genius idiot.” ˼

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

“It doesn’t matter either way… Oh, we should hurry and start watching!”

「Somewhere along the line I ended up voicing to Yuki about what Sonia said. As if letting loose the laminar flow of water spilling from a cup. My voice drowned out at one point from self-deprecation – it became fleeting, barely discernible. Her frosty indignance also having sublimated to thin vapour, it was replaced by strong despondence and self-reproach.

What sort of twist of fate had led to this?

I truly felt dismal, wishing that she would cheer up. I wouldn't be hurt by anything she said, because she was my beloved sister after all.

Swiveling her head back to the front, lit up ‘black’ for a lack of better words, swiping and tapping on the touchscreen, opening up a mobile-specific app for streaming.

She played the same anime episodes I just watched guiltily a while ago… Now I’d have to act like it was my first time watching those episodes. Hopefully, this eases her worry a little bit. Putting my arms around her, I pulled her into my chest like she did earlier.

A silence whistled out from motionless air, through some unspoken rule which was to not be broken in some way or another.

My time was beguiled by in cacophonous boredom as the minutes steadily passed by.

Our time was beguiled by in cacophonous silence.」

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

「As we finished catching up to all the finales of the seasonal anime scheduled to end today, we were left hanging at the end scenes of the last episode of a certain new sci-fi anime that released this fall – Magic Insurgence. It was a dystopian plot that incorporated magic into a modern Earth…」

˹ Okay okay!! Let me drown out Sora’s thoughts because you need to trust me on this one, it was an absolutely bullshit show. Nothing made any sense in it. Sora’s just glorifying it because he didn’t know what magic really was. ˼

「It had a magic highschool setting except in a darker, more chaotic world with a cruel edge to it and…」

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

「My own thoughts aside, the concept of magic was brought out deeply with quite the depth and detail. It was truly–」

˹ “HE’S STILL GOING?!?!? WHY IS HE STILL HAVING AN INTERNAL MONOLOGUE!?!? Oh wait, this was all an internal monologue this whole time… never mind then. Continue with your soliloquy. No, sorry. I’m the one narrating everything. I’m not sad enough to be talking to people who can’t hear me. Or can you?”

That’s precisely what I’m doing. I think I’m allowed to cry myself to sleep now. Haha… ˼

「Implementing science and trying to explain the phenomenon of being able to alter reality through these theories. If the existence of magic were ever to be proven in the real world, an outcome like in the anime would surely be fated to occur. A supernatural force suddenly existed and the number of things in reality…」

˹ “I think we’ve all had enough of your chuuni-tier thoughts.” ˼

「Fiction will always be fiction until it turns to reality.」

˹ “Oh my lord. This was a mistake.” ˼

「But the whole idea of merging science and magic was pretty irrational itself. Like the saying goes: ‘magic is just covered up science’. Magic is born from scientific phenomena which ordinary people couldn’t see through with the naked eye, or at least at first glance. There’ll always be some hidden caveat behind a magician’s mystic arts. Like always complying with the laws of nature.」

˹ “Mhm… finally some decent lines of thou–” ˼

「Imagine you were an inhabitant of such a frenzying world.

An interesting anime with a lot of potential for a dynamic storyline. But vexingly enough, the ending was left off at such a pretentious spot, you would have to ‘pick up the light novel and read ahead for the continua–」

˹ “I’ll just… stop reading your mind…” ˼

“What a really STUPID way to end… Sonia was right, all the way up till the end. Why would they end it off like that?????? There’s sooooooooooo much left unaccounted for, heck the ending of the arc didn’t even get a decent denouement?? They just took it off to space again???2 There’s no chance of this getting renewed.”

「Welcome to the anime industry, where above-average anime with a high chance of getting Season 2 never actually get renewed.

My irritation hit maximum capacity like vicarious mercury – the colour of red blood – as it was on the edge of bursting out of a non-existent thermometer. It essentially inflated like a balloon, then popped.」

“Cuzzzz…. TRIGGER!!!3 Another tragedy for another underrated series. This show’s going to go down in style like Magical Warfare­4 did… How sad. It was really enjoyable as well before the ending had to ruin it...”

“…”

“Pfft… Ahahaha!??!! You really don’t have any more to say!?!?? Ahahahah, ahhhhh… that’s hilarious… Cheer up, cuz Sonia-neesan might be coming soon so let’s leave it here then. The Sun’s about to set, so maybe we should start heading up to the rooftop?”

「Even my own little sister laughed her head off at my misery, even consoling me. At some point, she even moved away, releasing her idiosyncratically tight hugs just like her clingy ways. Extending out her limbs onto the floor, she got up as I sat there with a sour, contemptuous look on my face… Honestly, I felt like all hope was lost. No, I’ve always felt like hope was lost whenever I watch an anime being left off at an inexplicable cliffhanger. I’m sure many others feel the same way I do.」

“…Yeah, lemme go and get the wooden swords from the storage. Sonia might be coming at any moment now. I wonder what’s she got to say about that unbelievably bullshit ending of an anime…”

“Knowing Sonia-neesan, she’s probably got something eccentric to say…”

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

「Sonia Estella. Aged 16. A first-year student attending the same Feynman College just like me at the London Institute University.

A mad-scientist in Hououin Kyouma’s terms5 – sorry, I meant another physics student like me, living in the same apartment block a couple stories beneath in a flat of her own.

She was the one other person in my whole life I consider special to me, someone who was really close to the real me and Yuki. My significant other is how I’d like to put it, but there’s nothing romantic between us. Just a platonic friendship a single step away from being lovers, I suppose? A delicate balance, yet unique in its own way. Like soulmates, waiting for the right moment to take that step forward.

A bright individual who’s just as much of an enigma as us siblings were, but thanks to those similarities, we were able to form a tightly knit trio. A symbiotic clique if you will.

I first met Sonia in our 8th year at secondary school, when I began matriculating to Yuki’s academy after a necessary change in schools. This was a whole year before my sister joined among the first years. It’s ironic how much of a coincidental meeting it was. The sort you’d find at the beginning of some romcom manga taken straight out of the Showa Era using the same cliché that’s overused ad nauseam – except I was the transfer student.

At that time, it was a very strenuous period in our lives. We had our own troubles and personal circumstances, but in the midst of it we ended up opening our dark pasts to each other like guilty confessions, although it was extremely unsettling for the most part. But we’re past it. We're past the worst of it.

There were all sorts of crazy moments during our time in secondary. An out-of-reality experience that none others would have ever been able to experience.

But that’s a story for another time.」

˹ “Oh…? I’d love to hear more about this.” ˼

‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎‎

꧁꧂