The poor weather finally subsided after an extra week, allowing the city to hold a public event for the holiday called the Equinox; technically separate from the old semi-religious celebration known as the autumn equinox festival, but over time the public holiday’s name and its original ritual became colloquially equivalent. Traditionally, the autumn equinox festival celebrated the end-of-year harvest and paid respects to the deities of foods, prosperity and good health. Today, it became a general celebration for the blessings and fortunes of the previous year, while making prayers for the same of the next year. A similar ritual recurs at the lunar new year, but to a different set of deities. There was a two-week window for any delays to public events to have a chance to be rescheduled, and there would be times where a public celebration was missed, but they were rare to come across.

The Equinox was actually a series of public events held at several locations across the city. A dozen or so blocks of a major road or two would be cleared in the afternoon for stalls and vendors to set up their shops to provide food or entertainment, and these confined streets would be opened to the public sometime between five and six in the evening. After dark, usually a few hours after opening, a period of time would be set aside to light fireworks, timed together from each location. The festivities would continue until almost midnight, when the stalls closed and the peasants returned home.

The two hallmarks of this festival were the use of coloured lanterns and the consumption of equinox cakes. As the people entered the festival streets, they held paper lanterns that dangled from a short wooden rod as a rite. The most basic types of paper lanterns were vertically collapsible: its walls folded like an accordion so that they could be flattened. With an open top, it exposed the plastic base where there would be a candle in the centre. It would then be lit, and the lantern de-collapsed to surround and cover the candle. It was a fire hazard in packed and narrow streets like these, so modern lanterns’ candles were replaced with cheap pebbles imbued with catalyst impurities, clamped to the base of the lantern and were made to glow with a burst of mana.

Equinox cakes were small, golf ball-sized pastries normally made with lotus seed paste filling, salted egg yolk centres, and a floury crust. They were usually shaped like thick biscuits, but time allowed the shape to morph into more popular designs. Because they were filling and high in calories, people ate only one or two on the day to leave enough appetite to enjoy the other street foods offered at the festival.

As for the dress code, traditionally there weren’t any, but over time it blended with the customs of New Yue. Nowadays, old-school festivals meant that the kids wore comfortable clothes that were akin to elaborate customary bathrobes, called yukata. For men, modern sandals and flip-flops mostly replaced traditional wooden sandals, or geta. But women, especially the older ones, continued to wear them for such occasions.

“Hey, you guys look good—as usual.”

“Thank you, thank you very much. If you hadn’t told us, we wouldn’t have known.”

Despite Bianca’s words dripping with sarcasm, Eon heeded it no attention. The Elites met at their usual playground, or sometimes named Point Alpha, with the other half of the Elites and the Jupiter sisters. This year, instead of hosting it on Jordan Street where the playground was on, it was going to be done on Pedder Street, down and quite a distance away from the hill that the playground was on top of, so they were going to make their way down together.

Everyone was in traditional garb, but there was a very diverse colour palette. The men tended to wear more muted dark-coloured clothes of one or two colours, like navy blue, dark green or purple. The ladies sported colourful and complex patterns with their yukata, such as Sisi’s majestic orange-and-blue stripes behind the yellow-green dragons, or Ariel’s vibrant green-and-turquoise with white lotus flowers, or perhaps Bianca’s simple geometric patterns sprinkled among the colours between violet and madder red. Alice wore a mainly pink one that matched the pinkish red of her headband—an Alice band, pardon the pun—that she insisted on wearing on any and every occasion, sometimes unsuccessfully.

“Let’s go, let’s go! We’re gonna be stuck in a sea of people before we know it, so we better meet up with Mayumi and Celia before it gets too crowded.”

“You’re the dumb one that asked them to meet underneath the big clock. Time is ticking now because of that.”

“Look, it’s not fair to have them meet up here, sister. They’d be taking the same long walk back to Pedder.”

Like an experienced group of wilderness campers, they lined up nicely to make their way down the hill’s paved narrow path. As usual, Eon and Bianca led the vanguard while Kato took the rearguard, though with Alice instead of Teto this year, and mostly because Alice was a slow walker. Unfortunately for Kato, Teto went ahead first with her group of friends. Earlier, he had wailed as he watched her go, but he couldn’t do anything about that. Just as this was his last year in Korolev, it was Teto’s too, so she needed to spend time with her own friends.

“There’s never a dull moment with the Elites, huh. I went from my dreadfully slow suburban life, to this.”

“Welcome to the underbelly, Alice.”

She chuckled at the allusion to Auxirian Idiot. And against all lady-like etiquette, she crudely folded her long sleeves up and kept them in place with her hairclips so that her arms could move more freely. She used that freedom to point at him squarely in the face, her smile gleaming.

“I’ll have you regret those words. You’re welcoming a very troublesome person to your city.”

“As if I didn’t already know that. Now, what are you doing with those sleeves?”

“Isn’t this more like my style? Convenient.”

“And you question why people stop and stare at you. C’mon, bruh.”

“The women’s yukata are clumsy and heavy, y’know. I’m here to relax and have fun, not be on a display shelf.”

“Haven’t you worn dresses that are way heavier than these?”

“Yeah, but I don’t wear them for fun. And I’m surprised they can still go at regular speed in these geta. What are you guys even made of?”

A good amount of distance had already grown between them and the rest of the Elites in the front. Actually, it was a dangerously large gap and they were already out of earshot. At least it didn’t matter too much because they were all going to meet underneath the one large analog clock on Pedder Street that was perched atop a pole.

They were already on the narrow and clustered streets of yet another sector of the inner city, travelling away from the direction of their school. While Korolev Senior was still considered a dense urban area, the school’s immediate surroundings were not as dense as other sectors, mostly due to the school’s reputation, historicity and affiliation with Eternia that warded off the capitalist exploitation they saw around them here.

A great variety of high-rises loomed over them, stretching from a mere five storeys to in excess of fifty storeys. Most of the older buildings were shorter, together with ample evidence of wear and tear: cracks in the hardened limestone, stain trails of repeated leaks of oil and grease, and square rust patterns from old detached billboards. Newer buildings had less of these, and a few modern ones were even made of glass.

Even the street level of these buildings was different in nature. Old buildings had a great density of shops with fronts of perhaps only eight or ten feet wide, and occasionally in between them was a nondescript, dimly-lit passageway to a staircase to the floors above, guarded only by a pair of steel doors next to a wall-mounted mailbox for tens—even a hundred—of residences of the apartment, among other passages indoor. On the other hand, newer buildings didn’t have many secret corridors, only presented a few fronts for higher-end stores and featured an actual security area for entry.

Attached to the side of the non-glass buildings were various billboards and signage; the annoying ones were ones that stretched outwards to hang over the sidewalk and even the street itself, and unfortunately there were an endless number of them equipped with neon lighting for nighttime. Some were even low enough for tall people to jump and reach it, though there was no place or time for jumping among the throng of people that moved so quickly and busily through these streets.

“You’ve never worn these before? I expect a lady to be able to move freely in any kind of footwear.”

“I don’t have the dexterity of a deity such as yourself, moron.”

“No need. I’m your retainer of sorts, so I’ll just have to carry you on my back when push comes to shove.”

“Then I’ll have to try harder, so you won’t need to do something so heavy-handed. I swear, you may be a lot more civilized than Evie, but you’re still cut from the same cloth as her. Sister and brother in all but blood.”

“This is the easiest way to solve the problem, after all.”

“Please. When the problem isn’t solvable through pure physical ability, you falter.”

“Well, problems like those are not something you can repeatedly train for.”

“Am I not a good training partner for you? Like I said, I’m quite a high-maintenance person.”

“And you’re not afraid to admit it either. I guess you’re right, huh. I’ve a lot to learn, Ms Alice.”

Kato shrugged at Alice’s smug face, unperturbed. While their conversation was only typical and mundane, nothing filled Alice’s thoughts and feelings with ease more than a simple heart-to-heart conversation with her friends.

Ever since she escaped her family’s home and its responsibilities—albeit temporarily—her usual gloomy expressions finally cleared up and she wore her current smile much more often. Though her temper was still as quick, at least the harsh shadows underneath her eyes weren’t as dark as they were before.

Unaware of it, her more frequent sunny days steadily pulled him closer towards her. His mind gradually wondered more often about what to do with Alice next, whether it was a favour for her or a retort to her taunt. He thought of Alice as a unique and extraordinary girl, one-of-a-kind and in her own league, yet the short time he had spent with her already felt nostalgic. He wasn’t sure what the cause was, but he let that feeling sit in his subconscious. It might be a mystery that could get solved on its own.

With that at the back of his mind, he picked up the blonde beauty with the voluminous wavy hair by the waist and legs in a bridal carry in order for them to pick up the pace.

“W-w-w-w-w-what-are-you-doing?”

“Y’know, we’ve lost them already, and they should already be at Pedder’s big clock by now, so we’re gonna have to hurry it up. Hold on tight, Alice.”

“…easy for you to say! Hmph!”

Her pride was the reason for the gush of red flowing into her porcelain cheeks and the displeasure in her pout, but she turned her head away from him and over his shoulder to not let him see, as she knew her face wore all of her emotions transparently and without fail. At least it was the day of the festival so it was not uncommon for men and women to be together, although running on the streets with a girl in arm was conspicuous in any situation.

As she clutched him tightly, her imaginative mind flew in the direction of the other girls, especially Mirabelle and now Bianca and Mayumi too; all of whom Kato consistently withheld his judgment on in one way or another. It encouraged her as much as it saddened her, because while she held him this close to her, the physical touch was both real and hollow. The warmth and strength of his hold were really there, but she suspected it wasn’t meant for her. Kato’s arms belonged to someone else, and she was only borrowing them for this short moment in time.

Kato, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed his time with Alice. Walking together with her was a fresh break from the storms that were the Elites, and of course a reprieve from the baggage it carried. He loved living in the inner city and it was his true home, but it was nice to go to live leisurely in the quiet suburbs once in a while.

“Do you do this for any girl?”

“Not any girl. Only girls that I think deserve it.”

“Wha—?”

Shocked, she didn’t realize she said that aloud, but at least she didn’t say any more than that. She bit her lip, making a point to keep her mouth shut. At the same time, she didn’t know how she should feel about his answer as her brain was about to burn itself up and short-circuit. The little ball of intense anxiety at the base of her chest that she was holding down with all her willpower finally broke free, and it sapped away her strength as it spread throughout her body.

“That’s a bad habit of yours, Alice. How were you able to make it this far by yourself?”

“Just…shut up for a while.”

Kato grinned wryly, and was abundantly conscious of the delicately sweet scent from the blonde girl in the yukata. Cute. He held on to her just a speck tighter so that none of the giddiness made it onto his face. Though he raced past the crowded intersections at an extraordinary speed, surprisingly he found himself not wanting to let go of her just yet.

At a famous section of Pedder Street was an open square that covered a few blocks. At the centre was a giant analog clock ringed with Roman numerals, placed atop a pole about two storeys high and flanked by two flags: Auxiria’s imperial banner and Eternia’s civil ensign. A simple obelisk, about fifteen feet high, was erected in front of the clock and flags, dedicated to the men from Livia who perished in the Great Eirian War earlier in the century.

The only other landmark was the grand water fountain that sat behind the clock, but otherwise it was a patrolled area to keep the square clear of peddlers and their carts, despite the street’s namesake. On the edge of the square were overpasses for pedestrians to cross the adjacent streets, especially on Pedder where it was a total of eight lanes wide at this section, an anomaly for this part of town.

“Okay, boys and girls. Before we get started, let’s remember that this is likely the last time we’re all gonna be together for an Equinox festival, so please don’t be unreasonable tonight, everybody.”

“If by ‘unreasonable’, you mean don’t fall into the river like you did last year, then sure, I’m confident that the rest of us here can manage that.”

“What? Did something like that actually happen?”

“We had him stay for the fireworks while he’s sopping wet all over. You can imagine the discomfort.”

Eon clicked his tongue but otherwise held a stiff upper lip at Bianca’s snide remark. Alice asked Evie as Caius clapped his hand to catch people’s attention again.

“’Kay, enough of Eon’s great ideas backfiring on him. We’re already late with this year’s Equinox, so listen up. It’s six o’clock right now, but the fireworks are earlier this year, from nine-thirty to eight o’clock, meaning we’re gonna have to adjust our schedule. We’re gonna reconvene only once this year, at seven-thirty, which is an hour and a half from now.”

The group of children plus Sisi nodded in unison, as they had already discussed this prior. In a world where their only way of remote communication was by public telephone booth to Sisi’s, or in prior years, Karl’s, mobile telephone, they needed to schedule specific times to regroup, as it was inevitable that the group would get lost or separated from each other. Although Kato, Evie and Teto could use their sixth sense to find the others, it was only a little more useful when their normal and insignificant friends were melded into a sea of people who were just as normal and insignificant.

“We used to do this by the hour on the hour so that we make sure none of us get really lost and also to find each other again, but if this year they’re cutting it short, then we don’t have a choice. We’ll meet back here at the foot of the clock, like always. Capiche? “

“Yes, now let’s go and eat, finally. Sisi skipped lunch so she must have her evening meal as soon as possible.”

“Sisi? You do realize that all the food here is overpriced in order to make money off of tourists, right? Pilgrims come here for the Equinox.”

“No matter, Eon. Sisi has all the cash she can possibly need in this right here.”

“Okay, okay, just don’t get robbed on the way home when you’re waving those Yukichi’s like that.”

Now with Sisi at the lead too, the group moved quickly onto the busy street that was already teeming with people, looking for their first bite of the Equinox. Through the heat and smoke of the plethora of grills and fryers, and from the density of the street stalls, it was not hard to be overwhelmed by the strength in the flavours from the smell. The usual meats barbecued in every sauce, spice and manner possible, usually on a skewer, to festive snacks such as takoyaki, curry fish balls, varieties of soba, traditional herbal drinks and other Yue desserts.

“Are you ready?”

“Whenever you are.”

“Three, two, one, go!”

Evie and Franco each chowed down on a whole skewer’s worth of lamb, but it was not just any roast lamb. It was covered in sauce that was advertised as the spiciest of all the land, and in one push of the hand up the skewer they filled their mouths with all of it at once.

“There, there. Here ya go.”

“I’ve got it here, Evie.”

“Hnn, Evie’s got the advantage from this round. They finished at the same time, but Franco’s reaction is more serious, not to mention the amount of sweat in comparison.”

“I concur. Minus style points for the sweat, but otherwise they’re neck-and-neck.”

While Yui and Alice had held their herbal drinks for them for this purpose, Scarlett and Ariel judged their friends’ competition as if they were commentators to a sports match.

“Oh, Franco was able to finish his glass faster than Evie. How will Evie recover from this?”

“Though Evie was able to handle the spicy lamb much better than Franco, her follow-up was rather slow. It might cost her in round two.”

“Look, they’re both going for their next skewer now. Franco seems to have refreshed himself with the tea, and his drinking speed has put him in the lead. On the other hand, Evie’s pace has not slowed nor quickened.”

“That’s part of Evie’s strength, which is to endure any flavour as if it was nothing. The only thing stopping her is her innate pacing.”

“They’re on their second glass now, and the same thing happened! Franco was able to edge it out just a tiny bit faster than Evie!”

“A tiny bit, but it’s in no way beyond her reach. One mistake from Franco and it’s all over.”

The rest of the crew, while snacking leisurely at their non-spicy choices of food, chortled heartily at the two clowns selected for this exercise, who of course had nothing better to do than to have an extended spicy food contest like they did every year. Their caretakers, Alice and Yui, took the next round’s food from Bianca on the side, who was holding onto all of the food.

“And here we are, at the final stretch! Both were able to gobble down the lamb at their usual pace, but what’s this?! Franco’s coughing up his tea! Oh, no! It looks like recovery is not possible!”

“It was the third skewer of maximum spicy lamb, after all. It was too much to take in all at once, and Franco’s stomach finally gave. The winner this year, again, goes to Evie.”

“Hahahahahahahah~!”

While the men couldn’t stop laughing, the doubling over Franco was helped by Yui’s arm and patient expression. Although Evie tried to put on a face to show that she was unaffected by the flavour, the water in her eyes told otherwise.

“Caius, are they gonna be doing stuff like this the whole night?”

“Nah. If they did, they’d end up spending more time in the washroom than out here.”

“Hah…”

“The worst of it is over, though. As you can see, their energy is already all spent.”

“You’re still alive and kicking, aren’t you? Eon and Kato, too.”

“You’d think I’d fool around wrecking myself like that, Celia?”

“Well, that’s kinda hard to agree with, not gonna lie.”

“…is that how you think of me? I’m shocked.”

Cecilia wore a rather risqué yukata. While everyone else’s covered all the way to the heels, the lower half of hers was essentially a skirt with frills, making it more like a dress than a yukata. It was pinkish like Alice’s but also had an abundance of emerald to balance the warm colours.

“Man, watching them stuff their faces with meat makes me want to just have dessert and call it a day. It happens to me every time they do it, too. Let’s get some candy apples.”

“Where is it?”

“Over there.”

They lined up at the candy apple stand, a few stands away from where Franco was still recovering, surrounded by the rest of the Elites. Crossing his arms, Caius smirked from afar at the struggling muscle-head who was still being held up by Yui, but addressed Cecilia all the same.

“Where did you even get that kind of a yukata? Not many people are wearing one like yours.”

“Hm? This one? I borrowed this from Risa. This is her old one.”

“They wear stuff like this?”

“What do you mean, stuff like this? Doesn’t it look good?”

“Well, yes, but it’s obviously too non-traditional with that kind of a cut. It’s true to your style, though, I’ll give you that.”

For some reason, Cecilia burst out in laughter. Due to the noise around them it would have drowned out with a distance of just a few steps away, but since Caius was right next to her, he heard it as clear as chimes. A very natural, carefree laugh—something that Cecilia’s often strained expression almost never produced. Mysterious, thought Caius.

“What is it?”

“I was just thinking, what a roundabout way of giving somebody a compliment.”

“But I didn’t intend it as a compliment…”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed about that. Though to be honest, I think I can only take compliments in this fashion without being embarrassed myself, too.”

“Huh?”

Immediately, when Caius went silent, Cecilia realized she spoke her mind aloud.

“No, no, no—that was, uh, I just mean that I don’t take compliments well in most situations. That’s all. Really!”

He laughed at Cecilia's unintended admission, though he had to cut it short to turn to the stall owner.

“Two candy apples, please.”

While Caius was taking the two giant confections on a wooden rod, Cecilia noticed that the Elites had already started to disperse. Yui had taken Franco to the sidewalk in the direction of a public restroom alongside Evie and Scarlett, while the rest had moved on to the other food stands. This was what they meant when they said they would eventually be separated.

“Here ya go. My treat.”

“Uh, thanks.”

“No need. It’s part of the program, Celia.”

“What are you looking at now?”

“Gotta keep up appearances. I would carry a mirror on me if men’s trousers had the pockets for it.”

Right next door was a vendor that sold small trinkets, tools and other everyday items, and Caius was fixing his hair in a large hand-mirror bound to the steel rack, probably for customers to use for trying on the accessories on display. Amusedly, Cecilia poked her head into the mirror’s field of vision.

“Pft. What do you even need to keep up? Your hair curls so much that it’s like permanent hairspray.”

“Look, even my permanent hairspray is not infallible. The symmetry of the locks becomes lopsided very quickly.”

“Oh, look at you, who’s the edgy fashion expert here, hm?”

Caius was incredulous, but continued to obsessively fix his unfixable hair.

“Sounds like someone here’s growing a pair of balls, huh? Look at you.”

“Hey, I’m just having fun here. I’m supposed to have fun at a festival, aren’t I?”

Cecilia smirked as she made a peace sign in the mirror for Caius, getting a little carried away. He was encouraged by her unusual brightness, even a little nostalgic for some reason, and just as she did, he felt it was safe to add a bit of fuel to the fire too.

“Yeah, let’s have some fun, eh?”

Taking himself out of the mirror, Caius smirked as he held a finger to her chin, almost whispering his words. She was immediately flustered, spluttering lip flaps and all, though her tongue held firm.

“N-now, let’s not get too carried away. We’ve just started walking around here, after all.”

Seeing her bewildered but still in her feet, he reeled himself in and laughed again, shaking his head amusedly.

“You’re too many years behind us in the smack talk game. Come back when you pose a challenge to us.”

Arrogantly, he folded his arms in self-satisfaction, to Cecilia’s exasperation. It made her rethink slightly on the open-door feeling she had just a few moments ago.

However, Caius froze as he noticed a scene at the corner of his vision. Startled, Cecilia followed his stare to see a usual pairing of Elites.

“Say, ahn—!”

“Goddammit.”

Clearly unwilling, Kato was fed a bite from a box of takoyaki by a cheery Mayumi, whose yukata was mostly black with streaks of white. Opposite to Kato’s scowl, Mayumi’s face was one of pure glee. She seemed to be existing in her own world, impervious from outside interference.

Unfortunately, Kato was not in her world with her and was much more sober than Mayumi. As a result, he caught Caius’ rigid gaze and froze, just as he did. Simply watching them make eye contact sent shivers down Cecilia’s spine as she sensed the alarm and apprehension that hung between them.

Though disaster was swirling in Kato’s mind, he couldn’t do anything about it now that Caius had seen him. As Mayumi hung off his arm, he could see Caius’ glazed expression and guess what was going through his head.

“Caius…”

The blond boy did not miss a beat, seamlessly turning away from the scene without any trace of dismay, though his grin didn’t return yet. Seeing his indifferent expression, Cecilia felt as if a rock was shoved into the base of her throat, managing only to call his name.

“Man, it sucks balls to have to feel down this early on, even if I already knew it would happen. I planned it, after all. Care to join me by ourselves for a while?”

“Huh?”

“You’re wondering about us, the Elites, aren’t you? Distraught every time like that.”

“Ugh…what tipped you off?”

Caius smiled lightly, trying to not scare off Cecilia.

“I just notice these things. Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re not afraid of splitting off from the rest of them until eight?”

“How many blocks do these stalls occupy? Only a dozen. We’re more likely to bump into some of them at one point or another, than completely get away from them.”

“Then why do you guys need to reconvene at a scheduled time?”

“It’s so that everyone comes back together, not just a few of us.”

Cecilia was still hesitant to leave behind everyone, but was also very curious as to what he had to say. Caius continued.

“Or, am I not good enough of a festival-goer for you to hang out with?”

“N-no way! It’s not about that! Not about that at all!”

Poking at her, she was startled and raised her hands in front of her in a panic, but when she saw the usual grin forming on Caius’ face, it reminded her that it was only a joke, and she instantly beat herself up mentally for being flustered at his cheap shot. In any case, she felt guilt-tripped, even if just a bit, so she lost the game all the same. Caius took a step back and put his hands in his pockets, grin now completely wide.

“Then, let’s take off.”

Cecilia rubbed her forehead, already unusually fatigued. Then again, Caius liked playing these games, and she knew fully well that this was his style. She didn’t mind being pulled around; in fact she normally wholly accepted that premise, even if she gets annoyed in the moment. Peeling her gaze off of his smile, she shrugged wearily and took a step forward to lead the way.

“Whatever.”

“Mayumi!”

“What is it?”

“Aren’t you a little too…close?”

“Hm?”

The gremlin grinned but gave no coherent reply. Unfortunately, it infuriated Kato as much as it made him feel powerless. He liked this girl. He really did. However, she was even clingier than Teto and Evie, and despite his reputation those two were the only girls he ever allowed to be clingy to him.

Somehow, they got separated from the main group a while back, so they were wandering the streets on their own. As a group, they had already thrown darts, tossed horseshoes and shot corks from air rifles to win prizes, all of which were held onto by Eon. As a rule of thumb, the deities of the group were not allowed to compete, for obvious reasons, but nevertheless entertained everyone by guiding their friends on the art of war. Curiously, Mayumi turned out to be a great marksman on her own.

The festival streets only occupied a dozen blocks, six in both directions from the clock’s square. However, the festivities usually spilled over to the adjacent streets, and while no peddler was allowed to host their stall off the officially designated area, those who were friends and allies of the shops on those adjacent streets would usually get hosted by those shop owners. Through this it brought a bigger, unofficial celebration to the Equinox that, while the government did not sanction, it did not have to be accountable for things that happen on the outer streets.

Although the local government was de facto run by the mob, it maintained a tight facade of official purpose by claiming itself to be legitimate imperial authority, and to some extent it operated that way: as a vassal of the imperial government. The Eternian nomenklatura in the local government walked a fine line between the Auxirian authorities and their own group’s vested interests, and in this manner Livia was able to remain peaceful for hundreds of years. However, in recent years tensions rose between the two axes of power, and even between factions within Eternia, that threatened to break the peace. The political crackdown in Lien, a sister city that was administered in a similar arrangement albeit with a few stark differences, stirred fear and uncertainty about Livia’s future too.

But his beloved city’s larger political picture aside, the more pressing issue is the pressing from the black-haired girl next to him, quite literally. Under Mayumi’s lead, they wandered off into these side streets and arrived at a canal that ran parallel to Pedder Street. They were resting at the tip of an arching bridge, overlooking the artificial water flow below. Like any day of the week, the street was overwhelmed with human bodies, and today with paper lanterns in hand too. The darkness was beginning to settle in, indicating the arrival of evening.

“Did you plan this? Getting the two of us to be alone?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. This was all chance.”

Mayumi was basically glued to Kato’s right arm for a long while now. He could have shaken her off if he wanted to, but she would come off quite unceremoniously, so he could only put up with it until she decided to let go. Despite his wariness, he couldn’t help but be super-conscious of the warm body stuck to him, and the fact that the body belonged to a girl he admired the most, of all time.

In contrast, the captor of his arm was as bright as day, without a doubt enjoying taking him all for herself. Only a few weeks ago, she never thought she would ever be here with Kato at the once-a-year Equinox event, both in their yukatas, festival confections in hand and watching from atop a bridge the tiny boats floating slowly down the canal. The touch of someone special still made her heart race, loudly and without fail.

“If I were to believe you at face value, Mayumi, but alas, I think I still cannot.”

“Alas? Who still says that? What are you going on about, old man?”

There was one major change for Mayumi today: she did not wear her usual eyepatch, so her alien eye was visible for all to see. Almost every shop tender they saw today asked about her eye, to which she happily explained on every occasion. For some reason, on each explanation Kato felt a little sting on his conscience, and by the fifth time he really wanted it to stop.

“Well, whatever.”

They leaned upon the banister of the bridge, relaxing there as they took a break from aimlessly foraging through the unofficial stalls. The busy worldly noises behind them were quite loud, as expected from a night market, so any whispers and murmurs were quickly lost in the ether of sound.

“See? My eye isn’t that bad, is it?”

Finally, she let go of him and pointed to her right eye. Outside of the jarring eye, Mayumi’s tiny features joined to form a beautiful Oriental face befitting a Yue nobleman’s daughter. The weak evening lighting from street lamps, lanterns and the fading sun contrasted elegantly her ghost-like skin with her black hair and brown eyes. Together with her black yukata, a majestic crow was the comparison that materialized in his thoughts, but Mayumi would probably scowl at that if he said it aloud.

“Never said there was a problem at any point.”

Kato was unrepentant. In his head he breathed a sigh of relief as she let go for the first time since they separated from the Elites. Mayumi’s smile softened.

“Thank you so much, Kato, and I’m really sorry. I’m being overbearing, aren’t I?”

He immediately relented, regretting the ungrateful attitude he had put on. True, it was the natural response to someone who was normally more than just overbearing, but it didn’t make him feel any more vindicated as she gazed earnestly over and along the river.

“It’s normal for you to be overbearing, isn’t it? You’ve never apologized for it before.”

“That’s ‘cos it’s not convenient to apologize, like it is right now.”

“...”

She beamed at him again to fill in the silence from his incredulity. The contrition that was on her face just mere moments ago had evaporated, causing him no shortage of displeasure.

“If you’re being an ungrateful bastard, then I suppose I won’t be getting an answer today either, hm?”

“Answer to what?”

Kato said it before he gave it any thought, and he realized he was inviting a reprimand for no good reason.

“Ah, what am I going to do with you, Kato? I thought I reminded you of it enough times today already, but making me spell it out is rather upsetting.”

“...”

Hands on hips, for a moment she pouted with puffed cheeks, but she put the frustration away just as quickly. He sensed the air crystallize around him, which turned his undivided attention towards Mayumi. She put her hands together, rather formally, and bowed gracefully.

“Then let me ask you again. Kato, I’m in love with you. Please go out with me.”

Yes. This was the story that she had been telling the shopkeepers.

“I cannot answer you right now, just as I was not able to answer you in the past.”

“Then, when will you be able to answer me?”

“Likely not for a long time.”

Mayumi didn’t frown, but she didn’t smile either.

“Is it because of the mind wipe, that you’re not going to give me an answer?”

“In short, yes.”

“Then what’s the long story?”

Kato was not shaken by Mayumi’s knowledge of his situation. Alice had mentioned it to him before, and Mayumi had tacitly confirmed this was part of why she came back. He gave that question some time, though he already knew the answer and she should too.

“I wasn’t supposed to be freed from my duties this year, but Evie and I worked hard to create this opportunity. I promised that everyone will be all together for one final year. The keyword here is ‘everyone’.”

“I figured it would be something like that. It unravelled pretty quickly the last time I did this, didn’t it? But this time is different. There shouldn’t be any trouble with Caius this time around.”

He arched an eyebrow.

“I’d beg to differ, but I’d like to hear why you think Caius is different from last time.”

“Well, I had him help set up this Equinox festival’s scenario for me. We took a lot of time to plan our routes.”

“Is that how it is? I’m not surprised, but it’s not convincing me of anything, when I know how much you meant to Caius when he almost never returned. Even today, he’s not gotten over that part of him, Mayumi. I have no doubt about that.”

Not to mention Caius’ glare towards him just earlier. However, Mayumi wasn’t stupid, and in her subconscious she felt that this might be the case too, with the way Caius had reacted to her fall in the auditorium. If Kato felt firmly about Caius, then unfortunately she couldn’t avoid glossing over Caius’ predicament. In fact, Kato’s expression was distorted with grief, almost as if blaming her for its cause. It was true, though, and Mayumi froze at the unsightliness of his grimace. She wanted to understand it, but at the same time was afraid to.

“Can you tell me, how’s there no doubt about it?”

On one end of the festival’s designated area was actually a terminus of Pedder Street that intersected with Queen’s Road, which ran parallel to a semi-natural estuary that eventually flowed into the lake at the valley’s gap towards Auxiria proper. The estuary was rebuilt in recent times with sloping concrete banks and floors in order to control the earth around it so that it could support the city’s high-density development. These slopes were shallow and flattened at regular intervals to mitigate accidental falls, and Caius and Cecilia sat together at one of the level intervals.

“Can I have some of that?”

“Sure.”

Caius held out the last bit of cotton candy to Cecilia to bite into. She sat with her legs tucked in and arms around her knees, resting her head on them as they were a little fatigued. While Caius meant to explain things initially, as they walked past the stalls down Pedder they couldn’t help but stop by to play games and pick up food.

They made themselves comfortable, looking out on the fairly wide river lit up by sparse street lights and people’s lanterns on the edge of the water. There were sections of the slopes that had turf, but not enough to host any wildlife, so there were no cicadas or dragonflies to make any natural impressions. This was the city, after all.

“So? Ready?”

“Mhm. The others shouldn’t be coming here any time soon, either.”

They actually walked quite a ways downstream to make sure they strayed away from Pedder and its surrounding streets.

“You don’t have to, y’know, if you don’t want to…”

“Sorry, I’m just collecting my thoughts. Give me a moment.”

Cecilia didn’t know how to feel about it. It wasn’t like she didn’t care. She really wanted to know what happened, but perhaps she was only a little scared to find out. It was always tantalizing to tread the unknown, and she unconsciously hid her face behind her hair because of that.

“Hm. Before we start, I wanna ask you, what do you think of Mayumi?”

“Huh? What do I think of her? What do you mean?”

“Do ye think of her as a good friend? Just a friend? Friend of a friend?”

He pointed to himself, faintly smiling. she didn’t know where he was going with it, so she answered truthfully.

“A good friend. A very good friend. I’m a bit envious of her, in different respects.”

“Right? She’s too good to be true. She’s very much a good friend to those she likes. Conversely, she’s just as inhospitable to those she doesn’t like.”

“I can see that. I’m just surprised she’s willing to put so much time into people. Even for myself, we only met not so long ago, but she put in a lot of time for me.”

“Exactly that. She’s too outgoing for her own good, right? She doesn’t know when to stop, and she voluntarily gets involved in other people’s troubles.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m a little envious. She’s an amazing person. Not only did she join the drama department on a whim, but also helped me out with the autolights, coming to town with me. After that, we went home together almost every day.”

“Ho? Really? That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

“Well, I think it’s because we tend to separate pretty quickly after a rehearsal, between us and you. I’d thought she mentioned it to you already, but I guess not.”

She peeked at him from behind her fringes to find Caius still watching the opposite bank’s busy paths filled with festival-goers. Cecilia continued.

“What’s not to like? If even you are singing her praises, then it isn’t out of the ordinary for me to like her a lot, right?”

“Mhm. Exactly. Like you said, she’s an amazing person, and you ended up liking her a lot, too, huh? For you to like others is pretty difficult, so Mayumi’s magic hasn’t lost its touch.”

Cecilia perked up at the sting, turning a little red.

“It’s not difficult for me to like others! C’mon!”

“I should be telling you to ‘c’mon’. If you were, you wouldn’t have been a loner floating between circles until now.”

At first momentarily paralyzed, she turned deflated at the frank assessment of herself and hid behind her fringes again.

“You didn’t have to say it like that…”

He chuckled and reached over to give her a soft nudge on the shoulder.

“I only indulge myself like this once in a while. Don’t worry, I’m not that good at finding these opportunities. Eon and Kato are much better at it.”

She pouted, but Caius continued.

“In any case, Mayumi’s amazing, right? Reminds you of anyone, Celia?”

“Reminds me of who?”

“Her character. Whatzshecalled.”

“Oh.”

Caius placed the empty cone to the side so that he had both arms to plant behind him and lean back to gaze at the darkened sky, starless due to the abundance of light pollution. Listlessly, he started.

“She was even more amazing when she was a kid. Maybe it’s because when you’re a kid, everything is bright and innocent, but at the same time it’ll feel like the end of the world when something tiny goes wrong. Remember Mayumi’s right eye? We explained before that it had the power of clairvoyance, right? It’s not that simple. That eye was a curse for her.”

“How?”

“You saw how I reacted when Mayumi fell into the stage prop, right? I can tell you it was definitely warranted, if she was still her fourth-grade self.”

“…”

Cecilia mused as she came up with possibilities in her mind.

“Her boisterous voice is still the same as it was then, but her body was fragile as glass. A fall like that would put her in bed for two weeks to recover.”

“…how is that possible?”

“Clairvoyance isn’t any normal ability. It’s one where you attempt to gain information from the future. It’s information that isn’t supposed to exist at the present time, but we forced it to materialize and it amounts to adding extra energy to the universe, when energy is supposed to be conserved. Not only that, but the information itself lets a conscious observer use it to intentionally break causality, or in other words, change the future.”

“Huh…”

Caius chuckled as a cloud of mystery slowly crept into Cecilia’s expression. He wasn’t going to go into the many-worlds interpretation, which implied the existence of multiple true futures, or a converging arrow of time, which was an analogous field theory to quantum decoherence.

“It’s okay to just assume that the cost for that valuable information is very high. Extremely high. As a kid, her eye completely wrecked her physical health.”

“But she’s okay now, isn’t she? It’s hard to imagine her as a sickly girl. And didn’t she say she can turn off her future sight with a covering like her eyepatch?”

“Mhm. That’s now, today. Back then, she did not have control over her eye. She could force herself to use it, but it also ignited at random intervals, covered up or not, and every time it’s used for more than a few seconds, she would start throwing up and the day would be ruined for her.”

“...how was she able to eventually control it?”

“She didn’t, even until the very end. Only abnormal people like Kato or Teto would have been fine controlling a clairvoyant eye of Mayumi’s strength.”

“‘Abnormal people’.”

“That’s how you would normally describe challengers and deities. In any case, you can see that her eye was a major problem. She would have to sit out on any kind of physical activity, at school or at our old playground.

“But for better or for worse, her voice was shrill enough to make up for it. She would try to join in when we tackled each other, but we made sure someone entertained her while we were fist-fighting. We took turns doing it, and it somehow worked out. By fourth grade we moved on from physical brawls, but still, we continued to make sure we took care of her.

“We had fun, but it all came to an abrupt end at the end of fourth grade. There was some bad luck mixed into it, but it probably would have turned out the same way.”

Caius laid flat on his back, eyes staring upwards at the endless purple sky. He sensed Cecilia shuffle a little closer to him, undoubtedly to make sure she heard every word from him. Still with her knees up, her face appeared on the edge of his vision, listening intently.

“I confessed to her, and in that moment I thought she would turn me down. I still remember the hesitation that was as clear as day, but in the end she agreed to date me.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. At the time, I thought her hesitation was because she didn’t see anyone in the Elites as a significant other, and that I was lucky that she gave me and herself a chance. I wouldn’t know the real reason she agreed to it until about a month afterwards, when she was hospitalized for the final time.

“Apparently, her eye that had been crippling her body had finally caused enough damage to put her in the hospital permanently. I guess you can say that it was like a super-cancer, and over time it caused multiple areas of complications.

“She went to the doctor’s frequently to check herself, and she had known months earlier that her condition was terminal and it would begin to deteriorate quickly at the start of summer break and be put in the hospital, for however many days left of her life.”

“...”

The traces of the sun had vanished by this time, leaving the city in night mode. The riverside had much less lights than the streets, so without a lantern they were essentially sitting in the dark; not that they weren’t already, but what little the sun provided went a long way.

“At first, we thought it was just a routine check-up, but only when the week passed without any news did Kato and Evie go out of their way to track her down. That’s when we found out about her situation, and also why she agreed with me.”

Cecilia could already guess why. Knowing how kind of a person Mayumi was, she was sure that was it. Caius heaved a long sigh first before continuing.

“It was a simple thing, eh? She already knew she didn’t have many weeks left to live, so she wanted to give us everything she could before she left, even if she didn’t really reciprocate my feelings for her. Whatever her real feelings were, she thought she would bring it with her to her grave.

“She must have not expected us to find her once she’s hospitalized, and even if we realized and acted upon it, it would have been too late. It was a cruel decision she made for us, but on the other hand, I have no right to criticize her if what she wanted was to spend her last few months without thinking about her imminent death.

“And she was right. We were all panicking the moment we learned of it, and it didn’t go away until she was finally fixed. Imagine if she told us a few months before. We would have been in panic mode for that entire time, and it certainly would have been troublesome for her final moments.”

Cecilia prompted him as he paused for a while longer than usual.

“Then, how was Mayumi’s condition cured?”

“A miracle, of course.”

Caius grinned lightly, but like the many times before, she didn’t believe it was because he was happy or delighted. There was no way that was the case unless he was the one who performed that miracle for Mayumi, so she could only watch over him as he closed his eyes gently.

“You can already guess. The only Elite who can perform miracles, is Kato.”