“We’re even now? Great!”

As if nothing had happened, Shinobu got off the chair, straightening the steel chair and sitting down once more. Blood flowed from her nose, and she cupped her chin as she waved at Hiraku. It unnerved him, how she could maintain that cheerful attitude even after he punched her in the face.

An incomprehensible aberrant, she was.

Contrary to his expectations, Café Nowhere’s interior was simply odd, with nothing that really stood out. Landscape paintings filled up the bland walls, every one of them featuring some foreign landscape, whether it be Stonehenge, the Pyramids, or the Amazon River. Only a few chairs and tables occupied the space, enough to seat a group of twelve, while a baby blue piano stood at the end of the room.

And yet, despite how empty the restaurant was, everything was spotless, in anticipation for the customers that were to come.

Perhaps Hiraku’s judgment was too hasty. Perhaps Café Nowhere’s patrons came over during mornings, not evenings.

But, regardless, nothing hinted at the ‘new world’ that Shinobu spoke about.

Sitting down and popping open a bento box, the blue-haired boy pointed his chopsticks at her. “Well, gonna explain?”

Shinobu wagged her finger, shaking her head. “Tsk tsk, shouldn’t eat food you brought from the outside in a restaurant, Hiraku! It’s bad manners~”

He tossed a slice of breaded pork into his mouth, savouring the meaty juices that spilled out from a bite.

“Geez,” she pouted, “N-”

The door from behind the counter was kicked open, and instantly, the smell of alcohol strengthened. A tanned woman, perhaps in her mid-twenties, stepped out from the back room. Silver hair, long and straight, framed her hourglass figure. In the café’s warm light, it glowed softly, with a radiant starlight. Her flushed face and her unfocused blue eyes made it clear where the stench came from, but she carried herself confidently, surveying the room as if she owned it.

She probably did. Would make sense that the owner of a café with no customers would turn to excessive alcohol consumption in order to drown away her sorrows.

“Oi,” the woman said, eyes locking onto Hikaru.

“What.”

“Give me one.”

“…”

Hiraku stared at her for a long, long minute. For someone wearing a bartender’s outfit, she really didn’t act the part of a hospitable, charming hostess, huh?

He ended up tossing a boxed meal in her direction anyways, though. It wasn’t his money that he was throwing away, in the end.

The woman caught it, nodding in satisfaction. “Good to see that chivalry isn’t dead.”

“I was the one that bought it though, Noa-chan~”

“Then I take back my comment. Chivalry is dead.” The woman, Noa, didn’t seem to be bothered at all though, and popped open the plastic container. With a quick, well-trained motion, she scooped up a quarter of the contents and dumped it into her mouth.

Hiraku cringed as she swallowed it all without chewing, while Shinobu clapped, forgetting that blood was still leaking out of her nostrils.

With an ungraceful burp, the slovenly woman stretched outwards, joints popping. “Mmm, that hit the spot…and Kazanari-san, stop bleeding over the goddamn table. I already finished with the purification of the equipment, so just head to the back and wash yourself off.”

“Alright~ Thanks a bunch!”

“And this is the Himura kid you talked to me about, huh? The delinquent kid? He did that to you?”

“Yep! But we’re even now, so don’t worry about it!”

“Wouldn’t have worried regardless. Knowing you, it was probably well-deserved.”

“I know, right?” With that, Shinobu hopped over the bar counter, scrambling into what appeared to be a kitchen. She still hadn’t covered her nose, and a blood trail followed her into that room.

“Ah, shit.” Noa groaned, before pulling out a damp cloth. Hopping over, the silver-haired woman began wiping the floor clean.

“Well then, Himura-kun, what are you here for?”

Hiraku didn’t answer immediately, instead taking his time to chew and swallow. The youth set his chopsticks to the side, cracked his neck, and said, “Shinobu spoke of a new world. I’m here to confirm that.”

“Oh, close to her now?”

“No, but she calls me by my first name as well.”

Noa smiled dryly. “Yeah, sounds like her.”

“So…what can you tell me?”

“Yeesh, so eager. No wonder Kazanari-san was going on about how the two of you were soul-twins or whatnot.”

“Don’t talk as if y-”

“As if I know you? That your catchphrase or something?” Noa laughed heartily, before brushing a silver strand out of her eyes. “Well, guess that’s the normal reaction when strangers start judging you. But at the same time…it’s also the truth.”

She finished wiping the blood off the floor, and then sat herself opposite to Hiraku.

“After all, if you weren’t the same as her, you wouldn’t be here the first place, would you?”

Slowly, Noa’s eyes began to regain their focus, freezing into chips of ice that stared into his very soul.

“Underneath the veil of modern society, there lies another world, one that separated itself after logic and science overwhelmed religion and superstition. It is a place where those who cannot ‘believe’, cannot ‘see’, and even if one does believe, there are only a few points where these two worlds intersect, granting one the ability to slip under the veil.”

“There’s many different names for that place. The Underworld, the Far Shore, Limbo, you get the idea, but the ‘official’ name is Unveil, the land under the veil.”

“Sounds like someone had terrible naming sense,” Hiraku said.

“It’s simple though. Just like how SOS is the universal method of calling for help. Anyways, as its other names imply, it’s a world of remnant spirits too attached to the world to pass on. Some of them become evil spirits, and some of them become gods of the land. They just want to continue existing, you see, so they go around interfering with the lives of humans.”

“And that’s where you step in?”

“You catch on quick, huh? Guess it’s to be expected though. Those who can cross the veil and interfere with both sides have the duty of suppressing malignant spirits before they interfere too much with society.”

“Like Ghostbusters.”

“Never saw that movie, but probably.”

So he was to be a ‘hero’ then, was it? Protect that shitty society with its shitty people and their shitty obsessions? Hiraku bit his lower lip, hesitant. What stood before him was a new world, but the price of entrance meant serving the rotten carcass of human society. And that…

“You’re hesitant about the duty, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

The woman stood up, motioning Hiraku to follow her. “I can see it in your eyes, Himura-kun, and even if I was blind, I can understand your hesitation regardless. But you know what? Humans aren’t as ugly as you think they are. If an apple is rotten, just cut off the rotten parts.”

He looked away. “It’s not that simple.”

“But it’s not as complicated as you think.”

With that, the two of them entered the kitchen. It was surprisingly spacious and pure white, from the tables to the sinks to the utensils themselves. Everything looked as if it were made of plastic and in that white wonderland, there were only two things that stood out.

Shinobu, who had plugged up her nose with paper tissues, and a black gakuran, surrounded by glass mugs filled with a clear liquid.

“Hey, Noa-chan, Hiraku! Finally done chatting?”

The energetic girl waved at the two of them, and Hiraku felt a grin emerging. He suppress it, denying her the pleasure of knowing that her magics still had an effect on him.

“Yeah, he understood everything pretty quickly. No annoying questions, unlike you.”

Shinobu gave him a double thumbs up, another gesture that he did no reciprocate. Instead, the blue-haired boy turned his attention to the set of black clothing, and asked, “What’s this for?”

“A uniform. Haven’t you seen this before?”

Noa knocked Shinobu on the head lightly, before saying, “Its protective gear, soaked in purifying fumes in order to guard against evil intent. You could probably get stabbed by a kitchen knife and come out of it with a small cut, as long as it hits the uniform first. Of course, it’s most important quality is that it prevents possession, so no smallfry will crawl in and steal your body.”

“No, I mean…why is this here?”

Noa and Shinobu shared a look, before grinning.

“Isn’t it obvious, Himura-kun?”

“You wanted to go to a new world, so that’s what we’re doing! Now that Noa-chan’s dumped all that info into your head, I’ll be the one who shows you what work actually looks like! Now take that off and put this on!”

Oh boy, he didn't like this at all.

“...I’ll get a weapon too, right? To protect myself?”

Shinobu chortled, waving away his concerns. “Eh, just use your fists or something. Aren’t you a man?”

“Yeah," he replied, "Remember how that turned out in the little dreamland you tossed me in?”

“Oh, that...Don’t worry, everything will be just fine if you believe in me!"

“...right.”