During a regular practice session for her beloved music circle, "Wonderlands×Showtime," AIchin HIBIYA feels a strange pang of sadness. She thinks, "Maybe... they'd be better off without me?" It's a tiny, prickly feeling of being left behind while her friends shine brightly.
Noticing her gloom, a quirky upperclassman from her school, Arata JOZAKI, calls out to her. Arata is a brilliant hacker with an obsession for the "Sekai" system. He has a secret—he can access "Minor Sekai," unstable worlds b
In a Corner of Sekai, You Wait for the Stars - I'll show you something interesting.
Monday lunch break.
The halls of Tonogi High School buzzed with the usual midday chaos.
But to Hibiya Aichin, the noise felt distant, like it was coming from somewhere far away.
Two days had passed since Saturday's club practice. Something still nagged at her heart. She wanted to laugh along with everyone else, but the more she laughed, the more it felt like she was the only one lying. *Maybe everyone would be better off without me* — the moment that thought crossed her mind, a cold tightness gripped her chest. That feeling still hadn't gone away.
Then there was that strange light she'd seen on Friday evening. The shadow of the clock tower in Central Park had looked doubled, like she was seeing double. What had that been? She tried to convince herself it was just her imagination, but it clung stubbornly to the back of her mind.
Clutching her packed lunch, Aichin climbed the stairs.
The classroom felt suffocating. She was even afraid to make eye contact with her club friends. Having them gently ask, "Are you okay?" — that was the hardest thing to bear right now.
So she decided to go to the rooftop.
It was supposed to be locked, but she'd discovered the lock was broken a while back. A secret spot she hadn't told anyone about.
She pushed the heavy iron door.
It groaned open with a dull sound, and blinding light flooded in.
—Someone was there.
Aichin stopped in her tracks.
In the corner of the rooftop. Leaning against the chain-link fence, a male student sat slouched on the ground.
His unruly silver hair was tied back loosely. Long bangs hid his left eye, and the visible right eye was closed. Large headphones hung around his neck. Cords were wrapped haphazardly around his wrist.
Jozaki Arata.
The eccentric upperclassman who always slept through class and never hung out with anyone. A second-year at the same high school.
"…Oh."
The sound escaped her lips.
The upperclassman didn't stir. Maybe he was asleep.
(*What should I do? Maybe I should go back.*)
But she'd already come up here intending to eat her lunch. Aichin stepped forward quietly, planning to sit as far away from Arata as possible.
That's when it happened.
"You're Hibiya, right?"
Aichin flinched.
Arata's eyes were still closed. His voice sounded like sleep-talking, but he'd clearly spoken her name.
"Huh…? Y-yes, that's right…"
*How does he know my name?* Someone as inconspicuous and invisible as me.
Arata sluggishly sat up.
His hidden left eye became visible. Deep blue pupils looked at Aichin with apparent boredom. That gaze felt like it could see through everything, and it made her uneasy.
"So, you."
Arata pulled something from his pocket.
A heavily modified tablet. Thicker than a normal tablet, with antennas and wiring exposed on the back. The screen displayed a map of Kamihara City and numerous tiny points of light.
"You were in Central Park on Friday evening, weren't you?"
Aichin's fingers clutched tightly at her bangs.
*How does he know that?*
"…Yes."
"Did you see something strange back then? The air feeling tingly, like static electricity, and your vision distorting?"
At Arata's words, Aichin caught her breath.
Friday evening. The clock tower's shadow doubling. The air warping. And that brief glimmer at the base of a street tree — something like a crack.
"…I saw it. I've been wondering what it was ever since."
Arata's right eye widened just a fraction.
Then the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Maybe he smiled.
"I'll show you something interesting."
Arata operated the tablet.
On the map displayed on the screen, a single point of light was blinking. The location: this school. More precisely—
"That corner of the rooftop."
Arata pointed to the spot Aichin had been about to walk past moments ago.
There was nothing there. Just the concrete floor and a slightly rusted chain-link fence.
But.
When Arata swiped the tablet screen, something strange materialized there.
The air was shimmering. Like a heat haze in summer, but much denser, with streaks of light twisting through it.
"A Sekai Gate."
Arata said.
"When a person's strong desires or emotions exceed a certain threshold, another world like this is born. They're called *Sekai*. They exist overlapping with reality, but normal people can't see them."
Aichin simply stared at the shimmering crack of light before her.
"Normal people…?"
"I can find these and go inside them. Using a technique called Code Reading. It's a huge pain in the ass, though."
Despite calling it a pain, there was a faint hint of enthusiasm in Arata's voice.
"And here's the thing, Hibiya. This isn't a normal Sekai. It's what's called a Minor Sekai. Born from such tiny emotions that even the person who created it doesn't notice. Most of them disappear within a few hours. Without anyone ever finding them."
Arata thrust the tablet toward Aichin.
On the screen, separate from the earlier point of light, countless finer dots were displayed around Aichin's name.
"I've been tracking you ever since I observed the first reaction on Friday. And I found that new gates are forming around you with abnormal density. Several hundred times the normal rate."
The color drained from Aichin's face.
"I-Is it… my fault…?"
*Are my messy, tangled feelings creating these strange things?*
"Fault, you say…"
Arata closed the tablet.
"That's interesting, isn't it?"
Interesting.
Aichin stared blankly.
No one had ever said anything like that to her before. After all, this was born from her murky, ugly emotions.
"Isn't the normal reaction to think it's creepy, not interesting…?"
"Normal's a pain."
Arata yawned.
"I don't give a damn about anyone else's normal. I thought it was interesting. That's all there is to it."
Aichin fidgeted with her bangs.
A restless feeling stirred deep in her chest. She couldn't tell if it was happiness or fear.
"So, what do you say? Want to try a Sekai Dive after school? Just for a bit."
Arata tilted his head lazily.
"It means going inside a Sekai. I guarantee your safety. I'm a pro, after all. Besides, another interesting-looking new gate has opened near you today."
On the tablet screen, one new point of light.
That uneasy feeling in her chest on the way to school this morning. Was that trying to create another world?
(*I'm scared.*)
But.
(*…But someone called me interesting.*)
Aichin gripped her lunch package tightly, then gave a small nod.
"…Yes. I'd like to go."
She thought she saw Arata's eyes smile, just a little.
—
After school.
The two of them had come to Kamihara Central Park.
The location Arata's tablet indicated was, as expected, near that clock tower. The evening park had a scattering of families and people walking their dogs.
"The gate's right over there."
Arata pointed to the base of a large camphor tree behind the clock tower.
When he held up the tablet, a crack of light floated in the air, just like on Friday. But today, she could see it clearly, properly.
"Amazing…"
"Give me your hand."
When Aichin timidly held out her right hand, Arata grabbed her wrist.
His hand was unexpectedly rough and bony, but cool to the touch.
*Thump.*
Her heart made a strange sound.
"Don't let go, no matter what. If you get lost inside a Sekai, it's no joke, mentally speaking."
"R-right…"
Arata's finger traced the tablet screen.
—The next moment.
The world bent and warped.
The scenery changed as if dropping away.
The smell of the park's earth, the distant sound of cars — everything vanished.
Instead, what she heard was:
The sound of rain, pouring steadily down.
—But this rain didn't make her wet.
"…Huh…?"
Aichin looked up at the sky.
There were no clouds. The sky wasn't a sunset or pitch black, but a pale purple. And each individual drop of falling rain glowed — red, blue, yellow, green — in all sorts of colors.
Rainbow-colored rain.
"Rainbow School. That's what I call it."
What stood before them was a school.
Not Tonogi High. An older school, with wooden window frames, like something from the past. A three-story building stood quietly. Warm orange light spilled from its windows.
"Is no one here…?"
"No. But there's probably a presence — the presence of whoever created this place."
Arata started walking toward the school entrance. Aichin followed, still being led by the hand.
A hushed stillness filled the hallway.
But it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. It felt somehow nostalgic. Like a lingering trace of someone who had laughed here long ago.
Arata stopped in front of a certain classroom.
"Look at that."
The classroom blackboard.
Even though no one was there, a piece of chalk was moving on its own.
White lines smoothly wrote out characters.
*I want to be a patissier.*
The words softly faded away after a few seconds. Then, new words.
*I want to be an astronaut.*
*I want to be a singer.*
*I'm going to be a florist.*
Countless "I want to be"s, written and erased one after another.
"These are probably the dreams the owner of this place forgot. Things they thought about when they were little, left behind somewhere as they grew up."
Aichin stared intently at the blackboard.
*Did I want to be something when I was little, too?*
But she couldn't remember. Ever since she became afraid of failing in front of everyone, she felt like she'd even stopped letting herself "want" anything.
"…It's beautiful, but also a little sad."
When Aichin murmured that, Arata tilted his head slightly.
"Maybe so. But I don't dislike this kind of thing."
Then, Arata suddenly let go of Aichin's hand.
"Alright, let's play hide-and-seek."
"…Huh?"
"You're 'it.' I'll hide. This school's structure is all messed up compared to normal, so it'll be fun."
"W-wait a minute! I'm all alone—"
"You'll be fine. There's nothing dangerous here anyway. Besides, if you find me, something good might happen."
Arata waved a hand casually and dashed up the stairs.
"Jozaki-senpai?!"
Aichin hurriedly chased after him.
Up the stairs.
First floor, second floor, third floor.
(*He said it was three stories!*)
The stairs continued. Fourth floor, fifth floor. And beyond the landing, stairs leading to a sixth floor.
"The world's gone crazy…"
But she wasn't scared.
Her running feet felt lighter and lighter. She chased after him relentlessly, occasionally almost losing sight of Arata's back.
*I'm not alone right now.*
It was a very strange, and very warm, feeling.
After a long, long chase, Aichin found the door to the rooftop.
It opened with a creak.
It was the place where the rainbow rain looked most beautiful.
From the purple sky, countless particles of light fell silently. When the rain hit the school roof, it burst with tiny popping sounds.
And there, standing by the fence, was Arata.
"Ah… found you…"
Aichin said, out of breath.
Arata turned around, looking just a little — truly just a little — surprised.
"You're fast. I thought it'd take you longer."
"I felt like I somehow knew where you'd go, Senpai."
Aichin smiled softly.
Naturally, from the bottom of her heart.
It was a genuine smile, the kind she'd kept locked away in a drawer inside herself for so long.
Arata gazed intently at that smile.
His usually sleepy right eye was now moving seriously, as if searching for something.
"…I-Is there something on my face?"
"No."
Arata averted his gaze.
"Let's head back. Staying too long is bad for the body."
—
When they returned from the Sekai, dusk was already settling over the park.
The clock tower's hands had just passed five.
"*Sigh*… It was like a dream…"
Sitting down on a bench, Aichin still seemed unable to return to reality.
"…When was the last time I had that much fun?"
"Right?"
Arata didn't sit beside her, but stood leaning against the back of the bench.
"Your Sekai are going to keep being born, one after another. Next time, want to try a place called Tea Party Reverse? It's where lying animals hold a tea party."
"Lying animals?"
"Yeah. A rabbit saying 'I can fly,' a crow saying 'I'm pure white' —
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