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Hoshino takes one final step and stops, her shoe dragging across the asphalt with a screech.
For some reason, she found herself here of all places.
Sleep-deprived and hazy from her nightly patrol, Hoshino was returning to her dorm with shotgun and shield in hand, walking that ever-familiar path. However, before she knew it , she had already taken an atypical right turn at an intersection.
She took in the scene in front of her. A random portion of a mountainside road in the upper parts of Kivotos. These roads were a rarity due to the scarcity of elevated areas in Kivotos, which was, at least initially, the reason this place stuck with Hoshino. A gust of wind blew against her face, her hair shaking in the wind as she blocked it with her left hand. Then, she looked towards the origin of the breeze.
She was greeted by a sight almost impossible to find in Kivotos. Buildings lay strewn across her vision, their lower halves buried in the scourge of Abydos. These buildings each once had their own purpose and significance, but those, too, were buried under the sand. Surely, the people of Abydos must have once had dreams in those buildings. Now, only trace of them left lay in the memory of a few high school girls.
Beyond these relics of the past, she could see numerous unburied buildings, dotting the horizon with their presence. She could even see the General Student Council headquarters from here. Unlike Abydos, these buildings have yet to be broken and forgotten, stripped of all of their meaning. They still stand tall, like they always have, like most believe they always will.
She sighed softly, exhaustion flowing through her body. In the past, she used to stare at that towering skyscraper, that “symbol of authority”, with a myriad of mixed feelings. Even now, something stirs within her, and she can’t quite put a name to the feeling yet.
She felt her lips unconsciously curve into a soft smile.
She then began to move forward, walking towards a still-intact piece of road barrier. She leaned her equipment onto the railing, and with a soft “up we go”, she pushed herself on top of it. She adjusted her seating, then relaxed and brought her gaze towards the view.
Ah, how nostalgic.
Though, it really doesn’t resemble my memories in any way.
Hoshino let out a chuckle, then brought her view upwards.
This isn’t any different, though.
She was met with the bright night sky of Kivotos, dotted with innumerable stars. Like the GSCC’s skyscraper, the defined, opaque lines of the massive Elephs in the sky made their presence clear to all of the city’s residents. Never breaking, never fading.
Apparently, not long ago, Sensei had crashed down towards the earth like a shooting star, somehow escaping that terrifying fortress. When she had asked him about how he got out of there, all he said was that it was “a miracle.”
Miracles, huh?
She felt a tiny throb in her heart. An unknown force pulled her gaze downwards, landing onto the empty space next to her on the railing.
This railing was always big enough for two people, however Hoshino was always been worried that it would break, considering the probable weight of those things on her-
Oh. I see.
Hoshino felt her right hand attempt to grip the railing, as if it was attempting to hold on to something that she couldn’t see.
Or something that used to be there.
…
Her gaze returned to the night sky.
Fragments of the past floated up from the depths of her mind, first in the form of a single voice.
”I would say… that spending time with you already feels like a miracle.”
...
The way she said that magical word, wrapped in kindness and warmth, was something that always stood out to her.
Sensei. What is the meaning of the word miracle?
Then the memories came flooding in, scenes and images replaying in her head like a movie. Indeed, whenever this would happen, she always felt like she was watching a movie. It was because those times did not feel real at all.
That sweet voice, so full of life and joy, repeating that same word again.
Those massive, useless bags of fat that would take up her entire view, making it seem like she was talking to a pair of boobs.
Those times she spent living her life on the edge, fighting day in and day out to protect Abydos.
Those times when she… didn’t believe in miracles.
Well, it’s not as if miracles were something to believe in back then.
One particular image took the forefront of her mind, endless sand flooding an abandoned building, as if it were overwriting all that had ever existed in that special place.
Her mind then began to shift towards that particular path. The one she had pushed away so many times in order to remain sane.
Miracles… are they something that is created with enough force? Enough strength?
Hoshino shifted her body and looked behind her, glancing at her shield and shotgun.
Is it that I… wasn’t strong enough?
She took in a shaky breath. She felt her fingers begin to tremble.
She pulled that trigger so many times, inflicting pain a thousand times over.
She held that shield so many times, protecting from pain a thousand times over.
And yet... what had it all been for?
The smile she had quietly vowed to protect a thousand times over...
She would never see again.
...
Yume... was it my fault?
Darkness began to encroach around her vision. She looked away from her weapons and back to the view, but this time… it was pointed downwards. Directly at the patch of sand and concrete below her.
Yume… I’m sorry that I… I couldn’t create our miracle.
I’m so sorry…
Hot tears began to spill from her eyes, scalding her heart like the melted slag of scrapped, broken dreams.
Do I really… deserve to live? In your place?
All she knew how to do back then was to destroy. How could someone who could only break and break and never truly achieve anything but violence...
Deserve to live more than that girl?
...
If only…. It was me inste-
A vibration.
Followed up by another, then another.
Then, they came like a barrage, repeated buzzing coming from the pocket of her skirt. She reached inside and pulled out her phone, staring at the screen full of notifications.
Sensei? At this hour?
She read the most recent one.
”Hoshino, you better get home soon! Ayane’s about to go out looking for you! Call us if you need help!”
Hoshino lets out a soft laugh, and her expression, which had unconsciously become something no one alive today would ever imagine seeing on Hoshino, was replaced by a smile.
I forgot he told Ayane about my… nightly routine. She slowly opens her phone (she has never been good with these devices, being the old woman she is) and is finally able to text a reply after a minute.
”Im on my way back sensei! Just found some thugs that I had to deal with. I’m getting too old for this!”
It only takes fifteen seconds for Sensei to reply with a “Thank goodness, alright! Take care of yourself!”.
Hoshino smiles once more and puts her phone back into her pocket. She looks slightly towards the left, Abydos Highschool coming into view in the distance.
No, now that I really think about it... miracles aren't something we can just make with brute force.
Hoshino’s hand finally relaxes, her palm calmly resting on the railing.
The scars of the past begin to fade away from her mind, replaced by the sweet memories she would never push away.
So much had happened. So much that she could've never had believed back then.
Maybe it was that? Belief? No, it's not just that either.
Hoshino attempted to figure out the answer by reflecting on the many miracles she had experienced lately.
They had somehow managed to save the school from the debt and Kaiser Corp.
They had somehow managed to save Hoshino from the grasp of Gematria.
They had somehow managed to save the whole of Kivotos from that catastrohpe.
They had even managed to go on a vacation to the beach together, albeit with a lot more chaos and fighting than your typical vacation.
The common denominator for all of these situations was...
Ah. How could I have possibly forgotten?
This all started when Shiroko somehow bumped into Sensei.
In that case, it was luck?
Hoshino couldn't help but laugh at the thought. However, as ridiculous as the notion was, what she has experienced and what Sensei has taught her seem to corroborate this hypothesis.
Yume...
A final image flashes in her eye. She looks towards the empty space beside her one last time.
She remembers that stupid smile, that same smile that always weirded her out. No matter what had happened yesterday, or whatever the hell kind of problems they’d have to deal with tomorrow… Every time they came to this road she’d flash that same smile, like nothing was going on in that head of hers.
Even though Hoshino was the only reason things hadn’t reached rock bottom, that girl still had the nerve to act like nothing mattered.
Before, it really did piss her off.
Now…
She turns her gaze to the starry sky above her.
”Hey Hoshino, look! Those stars look like you! Like a mad dog with pointy teeth!”
Indeed, it wasn’t that Hoshino couldn’t make miracles happen.
Maybe they just got unlucky.
Jeez, Yume. That looks nothing like me.
Unlucky that they never had an adult around to help them.
Unlucky that... life had forced them to stop believing in miracles just to survive.
Slowly, Hoshino raises her right arm up to the sky and points.
“Hey Yume. You see that one star there? Now that was apparently what Sensei looked like while he was crashing back to earth after saving Kivotos.”
“If you ask me, it’s way too pretty for him. He looks a lot more like those animal plushies you used to collect.”
…
“Yume. I think…”
“I was already lucky enough... to be able to spend time with you.”
Hoshino let her arm fall back down. Then, she quickly turned around, returning down from the railing back onto the road.
She picked up her shield and shotgun and turned around for one final glance.
Now… I’ve been lucky enough to be given many more miracles.
I remember you also wanted me to have cute underclassmen, to have friends who would always have my back, right?
She thought of four faces.
A girl whose smile never seemed to leave her. She had as much energy as money in her credit card.
She kind of reminds me of you, Yume. She's a bit more reliable though.
A girl who was always serious and passionate, yet always getting herself into messes they'd have to clean up with her.
She might be a bit of an airhead, but she is the most hardworking and passionate girl I've ever met.
A girl who was uptight and smart, trying her best to support everyone and guide us on the right path.
She has done so much for us, I'm surprised she's not fed up with us yet.
And lastly, a girl who she found on a snowy day, starving and shivering in the cold.
She was always lost in her own world, coming up with ridiculous ideas and doing whatever she wanted.
We will never leave her side.
She has been through so much with those absolutely wonderful girls, it truly seems like a miracle that she had even met them.
Perhaps this was the result of her president's luck, too. If Yume had given her all her luck, then she would be very grateful.
You wanted me to somehow turn out lazy and naive like you… and have that same stupid smile. I guess you got what you wanted, hehe.
Hoshino then began to leave, walking back the way she came from, returning home.
Yume, thank you for everything you have given me.
Now, you don't need to worry about me. I've got plenty of people to get luck from, and to give luck back to.
We may not have been so lucky at that time; our dreams, our miracles being broken and left behind in the past.
Hoshino took a deep breath, then opened her mouth, speaking to no one in particular.
“But now, starting today… is where all our miracles begin.”