Aoi couldn't get the translucent arm out of her head. That night, in the moonlight of Kagura Shrine——the sight she'd witnessed. Ren's figure, his right arm and shoulder half-transparent. That hand, warm yet fading away. "There has to be a way. Absolutely." Aoi whispered it into her pillow, then checked her phone. 5:42 AM. The Beast-Return Festival was tomorrow. She threw off her blanket and bolted upright. --- "[scared]Wait, there are way too many stone steps...!" The stone steps of Kagura Hill——186 of them——Aoi was sprinting up them at full speed. 186 steps. When she'd heard the number, it didn't sound so bad. Running them was a different story. Her thighs screamed. Her lungs burned. And it was just past 6 AM. (At least I'm not in pajamas. I learned from last time.) She praised herself. That was all she could do right now. When she reached the shrine grounds, the old woman sweeping paused and said "my" at the sight of her. A fourteen-year-old girl, skirt soaked with sweat, hair exploding in all directions, had just burst through the gate. Of course she'd react. "[serious]Um, can you show me the old documents storage? Right now! There has to be records about Hitogaeri, and the festival is tomorrow, and I'm running out of time——!" She bowed. Deep. Straight. The old woman paused for a moment, then spoke while still holding her broom. "[gentle]...Don't blame me if the shrine priest gets mad" But she handed over the key. The moment Aoi stepped into the dim document storage, the smell of dust hit her nose. Dusty Japanese-bound books lined the shelves. She'd heard somewhere that Minase City had three records of Hitogaeri in Kagura Shrine's archives——or rather, she'd looked it up herself because Ren had walked near the shrine with that oddly composed expression. She opened them one by one. The cursive script was hard to read. Her hands trembled. Halfway through the third book, she found it. 《On the night of the Beast-Return Festival, if human and beast pledge their bond to the moon, the human form becomes fixed.》 Aoi read that line three times. (Pledge their bond...to the moon?) She only half-understood. "Pledge to the moon"——how? Shout at the sky? Pray at the shrine? Not understanding, she closed the book. But one thing was clear. Tomorrow night at the festival. She had to bring Ren here. Running down the stone steps, Aoi nearly tripped and caught herself with her hands. (Ren would definitely say something like "October 2024, incident of falling on stone steps, adding to the list.") The thought made her laugh. Right after laughing, the translucent arm flashed in her mind, and her running feet moved faster. --- She slid into homeroom ten seconds after the bell. Homeroom teacher Morikawa sighed and started taking attendance. Aoi took her seat and finally caught her breath. Ren turned around first. His gaze caught her face for one second——then looked away. Aoi's eyes went to his right arm. A navy armband was wrapped from his wrist to his elbow. (He's hiding it.) The girl next to him asked Ren, "Is that stylish?" Ren just answered, "Sure." Aoi faced forward. Her chest ached, slowly. --- Lunch break, the school store was crowded. The yakisoba bread battle——Nichu's daily tradition, a small war that broke out every day at 11:45. Ren always used cat reflexes to grab first, securing one for Aoi too. Today was no different. Except for one thing: Ren had bought two yakisoba breads. Aoi confirmed it from the hallway and thought, (Why two?) Partway through lunch, when Aoi opened her bag, there was a yakisoba bread inside. She didn't remember buying it. (...Again.) Aoi stared at it for a while. She remembered the chocolate mint ice cream. That day it had been inside her bag's zipper pocket. "I really hate this" She said it quietly and ate it. She was hungry anyway. Ren sat with Hinata's group by the window. He was excused from PE because of his right arm. He gazed blankly out at the school grounds, opened a memo on his phone, read something, and quietly closed it. Aoi had no idea what that memo was. --- After school. Hinata called out to Ren, "Can I talk to you for a sec?" Seeing Ren's face as he stayed in the classroom, Aoi's instinct flared. (It's happening today.) Her feet grew heavier. But she went into the hallway. She had to. She tried to pull the door but pushed it instead. Standing in the hallway with the door half-open, she realized her mistake but couldn't turn back. Hinata's voice came through. "[serious]Kurosaki. I've wanted to tell you this for so long——I like you. Please go out with me" Her voice was shaking. Terrifyingly sincere. Standing in the hallway, Aoi couldn't move. One beat of silence. Ren's voice came. Quiet, but clear. "[serious]Sorry. The only person I like is Aoi" Something exploded in the center of Aoi's chest. Joy. It was definitely joy. But right after, something else crashed down. Hinata's trembling voice looped in her head. Her best friend's sincerity had just shattered. (Hinata.) Aoi opened the door. Hinata was crying. Her golden hair, her back as she tried to wipe away tears. Ren looked at Aoi. His face said he'd heard everything. Their eyes met for just a moment——then Ren quietly left the classroom. Aoi rushed to Hinata. --- They sat side by side in the back corner of the classroom. For a while, neither could speak. In the distance, the sound of someone playing basketball drifted from the school grounds. Hinata sniffled and looked up. Dimples showed. Even while crying, dimples showed. "[gentle]I knew" "Huh?" "[gentle]Kurosaki only looked at you. I knew. But...I couldn't give up" That smile——whether it was a crying face or a smiling face, Aoi couldn't tell. So she cried too. "[crying]I'm sorry, Hinata. I——" "[gentle]Don't apologize" Hinata took Aoi's hand. It was warm. "[gentle]As long as you're happy. ...But let me cry a little" They cried together. In silence. After a while, Aoi sniffled and spoke. "[sad]...That guy doesn't understand human common sense at all" "Yeah" "[sad]But he was so proper about turning you down. 'The only person I like is Aoi'——what's that" Hinata burst out laughing. "[laughing]Right! It's so annoying! He was actually being decent!" They made strange sounds together. So this is what they meant by laughing while crying, Aoi thought. The laughter faded. A small silence opened up. Hinata spoke. "[gentle]Aoi. If you like him, tell him" "...Hinata" "[gentle]You're going to the festival tomorrow together, right?" Aoi was a little surprised. Hinata had already figured out that she'd snuck to the shrine this morning. "[surprised]How did you know?" "[sarcastic]Because it's you" Hinata smiled. The tear marks still on her face, but a real smile. Friendship wasn't broken. Just changed shape a little. They accepted that change as it was. --- Night, past 9 PM. Home, dinner, bath. Aoi's chest was still churning, so she went out to the veranda. Ren was there. Sitting at the edge of the veranda, hugging his knees, looking at the moon. Moonlight fell across the night garden. Ren's navy armband had slipped slightly——and through the gap, the faint boundary line of his translucent arm was barely visible. Aoi moved to sit beside him. "[cold]Don't sit" "I'm sitting" She sat down next to him. Silence stretched. Garden insects sang. Ren opened his mouth. "[sarcastic]...Did you notice I put yakisoba bread in your bag?" Aoi answered immediately. "[serious]I noticed. And I ate it" Silence. "[cold]...Make sure you eat properly" He turned away to say it. Concern disguised as meanness——Aoi understood that. Her chest warmed, slowly. "Ren" "What" "[serious]Come with me to the festival tomorrow" Ren went still. Still looking at the moon, he asked quietly. "[serious]And what happens then" Aoi answered honestly. "[serious]I don't know. But something has to" She looked straight at his face. Ren slowly turned toward her. His golden eyes gleamed clearly in the moonlight. For a while, he just looked at her. "[serious]...Okay" He nodded slightly. Aoi stood up and turned to go back inside. "Aoi" She turned back. Ren was looking at the moon again. Not at her. "[serious]No matter what happens tomorrow...don't cry" His voice trembled slightly. Aoi heard it. She really did. "[gentle]I might cry anyway" She said it honestly and went inside. She closed the shoji screen. Moonlight filtered through it, white and soft. Ren's shadow on the veranda swayed gently. (If they pledge their bond to the moon——) The words from the old document repeated in her mind. "Pledge"——how. Still, she didn't know. Tomorrow would come without answers. But——even so, Aoi had decided. She wouldn't let Ren disappear. That resolve alone was tonight's answer.