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“…”
“…”
The world was dark. He couldn’t see. Sora couldn’t feel… Sora…? Right — his name was Sora. Haru… Haruka…? Sora’s head hurt as he tried to recall anything else.
“…”
“…”
It felt like Sora was floating. Floating… in the air, or in the water? Sora tried moving his arms. The air felt solid… As solid as air could feel. So. Water? But he didn’t feel wet, or like he was drowning. Sora’s lungs felt… Was he breathing?
“…”
“…”
How strange. Sora tried looking around. Were his eyes even open? Everything was pitch black anyway, so did it even make a difference? Sora couldn’t speak. Was he just supposed to sit and wait for something to happen? Was something supposed to happen?
“…”
“…p.”
Hm? Ah. Sora just spoke in his head, didn’t he? Everything feels so weird to Sora. What is happening? Who was that voice? That was a voice, wasn’t it? It was a small sound, but that was enough to know that Sora wasn’t deprived of all his senses.
“…”
“…up.”
Up? Did Sora need to go up? Where was up? Was Sora supposed to assume that he was facing upward? Could Sora swim? No, he didn’t know how to swim. The air-water felt heavy on his limbs regardless… Oh right, gravity existed. But Sora wasn’t sinking…?
“...p.”
“…ke up.”
Sora was tired. He just woke up and he was already tired… Strange.
“…up.”
“…ake up!”
Sora’s discomfort increased as the voice grew in volume. He really wanted to cover his ears, but he couldn’t move his hands far enough to do it. But somehow, it also made him feel lighter, almost as if he was being lifted out of the inky abyss he’d found himself in.
“Wake up!”
“WAKE UP!”
Sora’s eyes were blinded as the black void slowly gave way to a sunny day. A pale blue sky greeted him as small patches of fluffy white clouds slowly drifting across it.
“Thank goodness, you’re okay!”
Sora vaguely registered the voice that pulled him out of the inky abyss. He tried moving his limbs again, and his arms swept aside some of the snow he was laying on. Despite its icy texture, the soft frost surprisingly wasn’t too cold; it was even almost comforting compared to the empty nothingness he was previously trapped in. Although, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off… Where was he!? Sora bolted upright, nearly bumping his head into the person next to him.
The person placed a steadying hand on Sora’s back. “Woah! You know, you can take your time getting up. You were really out of it.”
Sora studied the person helping him out.
The boy had an average build, mid-length dark blonde hair parted near the right side of his head, and blue rimmed glasses that framed his worried jade green eyes. He wore a dark forest green sweater, and on top of it was a jacket with sleek geometric figures of navy blue, dark red, white, and off white. The whiteness of his jeans blended into the snow he kneeled on top of. “So… what’s your name?”
“Name? Sora’s name is Sora.”
The blonde boy chuckled. “What a strange way of talking. Oh, uh, my name’s Makoto!”
“Haha~ Nice to meet you, Makoto-senpai!”
Makoto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Am I even older than you? Although, I guess you do look like you’d still be in school, and I’ve already graduated.”
“Umm… Sora is…” Sora scrunched his face in concentration as he tried to recall… “Sora is in his final year at… at… he has trouble remembering which school.”
“…You too?”
“Makoto-senpai also has trouble remembering?” Sora’s watched as Makoto’s color gradually shifted from confusion to fear and dread. He slid away from Makoto as the tendrils of fear reached out to him, threatening to pull him into a state of equal anxiety and panic.
“Sora-kun, what’s wrong?” Makoto’s fear diluted into something that closely resembled concern, a less overwhelming color, and he stood up.
Sora scooted back a few more centimeters, still too on edge to approach his newfound companion. “Makoto-senpai’s color was too strong. Sorry…”
“My… color?”
“Makoto-senpai is… afraid. He is afraid of the situation he and Sora are in.”
“You can sense my emotions… Wait, you can see them in colors!?”
“…Sora supposes so? If Makoto-senpai wants to put it that way, yes!”
“Wow…” The negative emotions radiating from Makoto petered out as he closed his eyes in concentration, and when he opened them again, he grinned triumphantly. “How’s that?”
Sora smiled back up at him. “Sora likes it much better ♪” He let himself get helped up by Makoto, and they observed the forest around them.
In every direction, the lost pair was towered over by tall trees topped with the same glittery white snow that blanketed the entire landscape. Technicolor berry-filled bushes were scattered around the forest, and there was no indication of any path being different than the others. But the beautiful scenery wasn’t enough to distract Sora from the fact that they only had so long until hunger, thirst, and the cold caught up to them.
“Okay, so we’re out here in the middle of nowhere, and it’s obvious we’ve lost our memories. I’m guessing you also don’t have any idea on how we got here?” Makoto turned to his newfound friend.
Sora regretfully shook his head.
Makoto huffed in frustration as his breath threatened to fog his glasses. “Why are there no footprints aside from the ones we made after we woke up!? How long have we been here for the way back to be completely covered up?”
“Sora thinks every direction looks the same…”
“Hmm…” Makoto’s color exuded determination. “Even if we don’t know where we’re going, I think it would still be better to get moving and see what we come across. If we stay here—”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“—we…” Makoto stared in the direction of the shrill scream. “We don’t know what we’ll come across,” he finished with a whisper. His shaky hand gently gripped Sora’s. “We should go.”
Sora winced as Makoto’s fear attempted to shake him, and he wrested his hand from his senior’s grasp. “Sora thinks he and Makoto-senpai should go to the noise.”
“W-What!?”
“Sorry, Makoto-senpai…” Sora mumbled. “Sora has a feeling… What if someone is in trouble?”
“B-But what if it’s an animal and it attacked someone!?”
“If there is a chance of saving them, Sora thinks it is a chance worth taking. That person might have a chance of helping Sora and Makoto-senpai.”
Makoto’s worried eyes stared into Sora’s stubborn ones. “O-Okay. But promise me that at the first sign of danger we’ll get out of there right away.”
“Of course, Makoto-senpai!”
Sora and Makoto carefully treaded toward the direction of the scream, with every crunch of a branch hidden under the snow causing them to flinch.
The small amnesiac would be lying if he said he wasn’t bracing himself to walk in on a scene of carnage, but the even smaller optimist in Sora pushed him forward every step of the way. “…!” As he and Makoto neared a clearing, Sora sensed a couple unique colors that stood out against the winter scenery. Sora hears voices!
Makoto put a finger to his junior’s mouth, and he craned his neck to listen from behind the trees.
“Why don’t you just walk in the other direction!? We’re bound to find something faster if we split up!” The outburst was followed by a splat of snow.
“But Esu~” a calmer voice pleaded. “Yume doesn’t want to be alone…”
“Then let’s just meet up here after ten minutes and share our findings! Simple as that!”
“…Yume thinks it would be just as effective to search with two pairs of eyes. That way, every area is searched extra thoroughly.”
Makoto’s frightful eyes gleamed with hope. “Sora, I think it’s more people.”
Sora excitedly led Makoto by the hand into the opening where the other two people stood.
“GYAH!?” The louder of the two shrieked as Makoto and Sora emerged from a bush. He had an exciting color, radiating emotion so powerfully that Sora couldn’t help but be a little in awe of it. “Oh wait! It’s more people!”
The quieter one, a feminine boy with lavender hair, eyed the blonds with suspicion.
“Sorry for scaring you,” Makoto apologized while laughing. “My name’s Makoto, and my friend here is Sora. We’ve gotten a bit turned around, and we don’t know how to make it out of this forest. I’m guessing you were the one who was screaming earlier?”
The energetic boy grinned embarrassedly. “Yeah, sorry about that~! The name’s Esu! And the one over there is Fuyume!” Esu scowled at his companion. “He was watching over me while I slept, so his face was a few centimeters from mine when I woke up, and that’s why I screamed! Freaking psycho…”
“Fufu~ Yume simply thought you looked so pretty while you slept ♪” Fuyume offered a small smile to Sora and Makoto. “But Yume sees that everyone is facing the same predicament.”
Makoto’s enthusiasm dwindled a bit. “Same predicament…? You guys don’t remember anything about how you got here either?”
Esu shook his head. “I thought when you guys showed up, we finally found a way outta here… But the more people we have, the faster we can figure something out! You gotta admit, it feels kinda like a fun adventure~! As a survivalist, this is my specialty!” He bounced excitedly on his heels.
“Well…” Makoto started. “What’s the last thing everyone remembers before waking up here? For me, it was going to bed in my house.”
“Sora remembers the same thing!”
Esu hummed noncommittedly. “Same here.”
Fuyume giggled. “Yume remembers the same ♪”
Catching a lightning-quick change in color, Sora focused his gaze on Fuyume. Yume-chan’s color… flickered. Something wasn’t right about Fuyume’s color. He… was lying. But why?
“Is something wrong, Sora-kun?” Makoto asked, waves of worry swelling from him.
“Sora thinks Yume-chan is lying…”
“You mean Fuyume!?” Esu leapt away from the quiet boy steadily creeping his way into Esu’s space. “I knew he was shady!”
Fuyume eyed Sora, a tinge of annoyance sparking within him. “Yume isn’t lying.” Lie. “Yume is stuck here too,” Truth. “so why would he need to lie?”
“Maybe you’re a part of the reason all of us are stuck here without our memories!” Esu shouted accusatorily. He immediately ran away to try to conceal himself behind Sora’s small frame.
One of Fuyume’s eyes twitched, and his color turned a nauseating green. “Yume thinks you all have no idea what you’re talking about.” Lie. He glanced at a comically oversized watch on his wrist, awkwardly wrapped on top of the sleeve of his shirt.
Sora squinted at the conspicuous accessory. “That watch… has a strange color,” he murmured.
Makoto raised both his hands in surrender. “Okay, Fuyume-kun. We’re sorry for accusing you of lying… even though it’s probably true,” he coughed out. “Can we just take a breath and relax? We’re all friends here stuck together, aren’t we?”
Yume’s eyes narrowed.
Sora pulled Esu in front of him, and the smaller boy yelped indignantly. “See? Esu-chan is going to keep you company ♪”
“I’m gonna what!?” Esu screeched, piercing the group’s eardrums.
Fuyume’s demeanor immediately lightened into a pleasant amethyst, and he opened his arms invitingly.
Esu backed up a few steps. “Nuh-uh—”
“Esu-chan,” Sora whispered. “Yume-chan is the only one who might know why everyone is here, and his watch has a strange color. Please find out what is on that watch; Esu-chan is the only one that can do it.”
“…What are you two whispering about over there?” Fuyume innocently inquired.
Esu gulped before steeling himself, and he nodded at Makoto and Sora. “I’ve got this.” He plastered on his best smile, but Sora was sure even Makoto could sense Esu’s anxiety flooding the area. “Sorry that we got off to a bad start, but I’m willing to try to put our differences aside!”
Fuyume only looked unimpressed. “Yume saw you all whispering, and you changed your attitude immediately. Yume isn’t that stupid.”
Esu’s anxiety somehow rose even higher, making even Sora tremble slightly. “W-We were just deciding whether or not to trust you! We promise that we’re just tryna figure out what’s going on!” The more Esu spoke, the more his anxiety gave way to confidence. “But of course, a princess like you would understand how to handle such a scary situation!”
“…Princess? Esu thinks Yume… is a princess…?” Fuyume’s color changed from amethyst purple to rose quartz pink.
“Ah, wait! I don’t know why I said that! It just kinda… came out!? You kinda feel like a princess to me, but I mean, you’re a guy, so—”
“Fufufufufufuhehehehehehe ♪” Fuyume’s eyes shone brilliantly — almost manically — and he rushed forward to clasp one of Esu’s hands, leaning forward so that their foreheads were nearly touching. “Yume knew that he and Esu were always destined to be together!”
“EAUGH!?” Esu fearfully glanced back at Makoto and Sora, whose eyes only reflected how horrified he felt. His smile was much more forced when he turned back to Fuyume, and he pulled his hand out of the lavender boy’s grasp. When Fuyume frowned at the action, Esu’s color spiked in fear, and he took back one of Fuyume’s hands before kissing the back of it.
The explosive effect of the kiss was instantaneous, causing Sora to fall to the ground, overstimulated by the sheer power of Fuyume’s emotions. Infatuation and passion were the only sensations Sora could see, and he only vaguely registered Makoto’s worried questions and a comforting hand on his back. “S-Sora is okay… Yume-chan just has a very strong color.”
The world came back into focus, its colors becoming visible once again.
Yume tilted his head, seeming much more curious than concerned about the situation. “Yume has a strong color…?” He looked down at the hand Esu kissed and smiled.
Esu was the one rubbing soothing circles on Sora’s back. “Are you sure you’re good?” He then lowered his voice. “The watch on Fuyume’s wrist looks like it’s counting down. Apparently, there are seven minutes until whatever the countdown is for. I’ve got a bad feeling about it…”
Makoto nodded gravely. “Video game rule number one: never let the timer reach zero. Fuyume-kun is obviously trying to hide us that fact from us… but why? The only explanation I can think of is that he’s part of the reason we’re here, but I’m not sure how. We need someone to distract him… Esu-kun?”
“Don’t give me those puppy eyes!” Esu glanced at Fuyume, who was still lost in his own little world as a myriad of magenta hues clouded him. “…Okay, as long as it means we can get out of here, away from him.”
“Thank you, Esu-kun.” Makoto bowed his head. “We promise to come back for you when we find our way out of here.”
Esu huffed, slapping himself in the face to psyche himself up. “Okay! Heyyy, ugh, Fuyume!”
Fuyume snapped out of his trance and smiled pleasantly, gently holding onto his prized hand. “Yes, Esu~?”
“Sooo~ Have any ideas how we’re getting outta here?”
Fuyume shifted uncomfortably, and his color turned a mix of nervous and ecstatic. “While you were sleeping, Yume thinks he found a way out of here.” Truth. “Yume will show you what he means.” Lie.
“Great!” Esu grabbed Fuyume’s hand and winked. “Lead the way!”
Fuyume’s color turned an uncomfortably powerful shade again, but Sora was prepared to use his senior as support the second time around.
“If Fuyume-kun is really against us, I think we should go in the opposite direction,” Makoto whispered.
Sora nodded. “Sora can see that Yume-chan is lying about leading Esu-chan to the way out.” After the young pair reached a distance where their colors were no longer visible, Sora motioned for Makoto to fan out in the opposite direction that Fuyume took Esu.
Sora was a bit anxious to be separated from Makoto, so he constantly reminded himself that once one of them found something — hopefully in less than the approximate five minutes left on their timer — they would be reunited again.
So far, Sora had found only the same plain scenery: tall pine trees, fluffy berry bushes, glittering white snow, and the overcast sky. Snow had begun to slowly drift down, lightly obscuring the bland landscape. The only thing that stood out were the colorful berries that contrasted the otherwise bleak atmosphere, but Sora knew better than to try to taste test them without Esu’s opinion. “Ah!”
Sora stumbled backward as he hit bumped into… nothing? He looked around, but nothing was there, and nothing out of the ordinary was exuding any color. Facing forward, Sora slowly reached out. “…!”
Solid. Solid air. No matter how hard Sora pressed against it, it didn’t feel like it was giving way at all. Running his hand along it made it apparent that whatever forcefield had trapped them in was dome shaped. What could possibly be—
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” A bloodcurdling bellow pierced the once peaceful air, sounding even more horrific than Esu’s scream. The color of fear exploded from where the area came from, like a smoke cloud from a fire.
Makoto-senpai, Sora is coming!
As Sora neared Makoto’s location, the pressure from the fear he felt grew stronger and heavier. But as long as his senior was feeling that fear, that assured Sora that Makoto was at least conscious enough to continue to feel such powerful emotion.
“You there!” was the only warning Sora got before getting pulled into the bushes by his arm.
Sora was so focused on Makoto that he hadn’t even noticed the stranger’s color, but even as he tried to escape, the other person wasn’t letting him go.
“Are you an alien!? You don’t look like your typical human! My name’s Leo! Uchuu~☆” The orange-haired eccentric made a peace sign with one of his hands, still adamantly holding onto Sora with the other. “Sorry Alien-sama, but I can’t let you go out there…”
“Sora is not an alien!” Sora grunted as he tried to free himself. “Sora needs to help his friend!”
“Sora? Mm… You’re right.” Leo sniffled. “You’re really not an alien, boooo…”
“Did you see Makoto-senpai? What happened to him?”
Leo’s color shifted into something more pungent, and his neutral expression was somehow even more unnerving than his manic one. “Ohhh, Yuu-kun was the other blondie that passed by here? He was running so fast that I didn’t even get a chance to grab him…”
“Huh? ‘Yuu-kun’? Where is Makoto-senpai?”
“…He’s dealing with the monster.”
“Monster…?” Sora tugged his hand even more insistently. “Leo-san, Sora has to help!”
“You don’t seem scared at all… Are you sure you’re not an alien? I promise I won’t tell anyone ♪” Despite Leo’s words, his color only radiated excitement rather than fear.
“What kind of monster is Makoto-senpai facing…?”
Leo trembled.
“L-Leo-senpai?”
“Sorry, it’s just… I-It’s so inspiring and I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO WRITE MUSIC WITH!” Leo teared up and shook Sora by the shoulders. “WHY WOULD THE UNIVERSE DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO ME!? IT’S NOT EVERYDAY YOU COME ACROSS A MANTICORE!”
“…!?” Sora saw an opening to escape Leo’s grasp, and he bolted out of the bushes, heading where Makoto was supposed to be… and that’s when he saw it.
Standing at the center of the forest clearing was a seemingly ordinary lion… if a lion stood at a height of three meters tall, over twice the height of a normal lion. Its gargantuan size was complemented by razor-sharp claws, vicious teeth, wild mane, and the scorpion tail that swayed back and forth, poised to strike.
The manticore stood over a thin glass geometrical dome, which held a strange, small, floating ethereal object. Two golden rings, one bigger than the other, revolved perpendicularly around a blueish fiery wisp, and the color the fire burned was just as wonderous. From its mystical color, Sora was positive that had to be the way out of whatever everyone was trapped in.
“Sora-kun?”
Sora whirled around and spotted Makoto, who trembled as he hid behind a nearby tree. “Makoto-sen—!”
Makoto quickly shut Sora up with a hand to his mouth. “Shhh! I don’t know if that thing will hear us!”
Sora took Makoto’s hand in his own. “Sorry,” he whispered. “Did the manticore attack Makoto-senpai earlier?”
The taller blond nodded, his face almost as pale as the surrounding snow. “When I tried to examine the glass dome, it jumped down from the sky out of nowhere like a secret final boss! I managed to get away, and it didn’t chase me, but I have a feeling that we’ll need to get close to it anyway… You’ve also figured out that it’s probably our way out of here, haven’t you?”
Sora peered out from behind the tree to see the manticore dutifully on the lookout for any prey. “How are Sora and Makoto-senpai supposed to make it past the manticore?” Strangely, strategizing in such an extreme situation stirred up in Sora a perplexing mix of unease and thrill. Even stranger was that Makoto’s color reflected the exact same sentiment.
“Time for a game plan!” Makoto pointed toward the manticore. “All we’ve gotta worry about is making it to the glass dome. Whatever object is inside there is bound to get us out of this mess. We just have to distract it.”
“May Sora suggest using some rocks? Sora can aim them at the trees and bring the manticore away while Makoto-senpai sneaks up from the opposite direction.”
Makoto huffed. “We don’t know how smart this thing is, so…” He shook his head. “We don’t have much of a choice though, do we? Fuyume-kun’s timer has got to be nearing its two-minute mark. It’s now or never.” He picked up a rock. “Let me throw the rocks. You’re smaller and lighter on your feet.” Before the smaller boy could begin to protest, Makoto took off, throwing a confident wink over his back.
Sora can do this! Sora can do this! Sora can do this! Sora could already feel the adrenaline begin to course throughout his body, preparing him for the greatest run of his life.
A small clink sounded from the other side of the clearing, and the manticore stood at attention, warily turning around and sniffing the air.
Sora held his breath as he watched the beast slowly leave the dome to investigate the sound. But it still wasn’t safe for him to go further — did Makoto realize that? Sora… Sora trusts Makoto-senpai to know. Makoto had a comforting color that reminded Sora a lot of… of… who did he remind Sora of?
A second, louder clink resounded.
The manticore growled as it grew more agitated.
A third stone hit the colossal creature between the eyes.
“GRAAAAAAAH!” The manticore leapt toward the trees.
At that moment, Sora immediately ran for the dome. Each step felt like an hour too long, every stride a kilometer too short. The dome felt much further away than it looked at first glance, and the blood rushing in Sora’s ears didn’t make it any easier to tell if he was getting closer or not.
Snap!
A branch snapped under Sora’s foot, but he didn’t bother to stop.
The manticore whipped its head around at the sound and roared, shaking the entire forest. It was hit in the side with another rock, but rather than turning its attention to the rock, it seemed much more interested in the small human that was trying to reach its treasure.
“HEY, OVER HERE!” Makoto yelled, leaving the safety of the tree line and nonsensically waving his arms. “GET ME!”
The manticore drew its attention back to the nearest human and charged at him.
Sora can do this! For Makoto-senpai! The dome was right there, and as he reached out—
“NO!” a shrill voice shrieked. Sora barely turned around in time to see Fuyume running at full speed, and they both grunted from the collision. The two rolled around in the snow until Fuyume was on top of Sora, pinning his arms down with a menacing glare. “Yume thinks we should all just stop what we’re doing and go somewhere safer,” he bit out. Fuyume’s lavender color became a dark plum, oozing petrifying malice.
As Sora struggled to push Fuyume off him, a pained yell caught his ear. He turned just in time to see Makoto grabbed by the manticore and thrown high into the air.
Time slowed as Makoto somersaulted throughout the air, flailing his arms as he screamed. His glasses flung off his face, and he desperately tried reaching for them, but to no avail. As Makoto began tumbling back down to the ground, the manticore positioned itself right under where the dark blond would land.
Sora barely processed Makoto’s words.
“Harukawa-kun, the beacon!”
The only thing Sora could focus on was the manticore’s open jaws. The same jaws that swallowed Makoto whole.
The manticore gulped and crushed Makoto’s glasses into pieces, the glass from the lens falling onto the snow, never to be seen again.
“MAKOTO-SENPAI! MA… MA… YUUKI-SENSEI!” Sora cried out as his memories rushed back to him, tears sprinting down his cheeks from Makoto’s death. And then Sora realized… he remembered everything. How they got there, how to get out, how… A ship full of memories and magic lowered its anchor onto the beach of Sora’s mind as he cried out with all his might, “Yuuki-sensei… Yuuki-sensei is okay!”
Fuyume gasped. “You… You remember!?”
With renewed determination and a flash of magic, Sora sent the weaker boy rolling through the snow. “Huhu~ Yume-chan has to try harder than that~♪”
Fuyume’s color grew more agitated, but as he tried getting up, Esu appeared from the tree line and tackled Fuyume to the ground.
“GO! I’ve got Fuyume!” Esu managed to give a quick thumbs-up as he fought back against Fuyume’s struggling.
“Leave it up to Sora!” The young magician accelerated, his feet barely touching the ground as he soared toward the dome.
The manticore, satisfied with its meal, charged toward Sora without inhibition.
But in the nick of time, Leo jumped in front of the manticore, somehow able to growl just as fiercely. “Sora, leave Manticore-chan to me! Get the beacon! RAWR~☆”
Leo-san remembers too! Sora snapped his fingers, and the dome shattered into the geometrical pieces that formed it. Once the triangular shards hit the snow, they dissolved into glittery essence that evaporated into the sky. Sora was momentarily gasping in awe and wonder by the magical display before remembering to grab the beacon.
In the background, Fuyume grunted in frustration, and the manticore stopped growling. The winter breeze halted, and the snow stopped falling, instead freezing in the air. The only sounds left were the random animal noises Leo continued to make.
The outer ring of the beacon felt stone cold, but the inner ring was comfortingly toasty. As Sora stared into the small fire floating in the center, Sora swore he could hear it giggling. The junior magician smiled. “HaHiHuHeHo~☆” He threw the beacon into the air, and it shone brightly, basking the entire world in its illusory luminescence. Artificial, yet so beautiful. Soon everything would be gone. It was almost sad to see it go so soon.
The world turned a blinding white.
Tsumugi handed out SSVRS headsets as he walked along the circle the players had formed. “Everyone’s hopefully got the rules by now, but if you want to go over it again—”
“SenPAI,” Natsume scoffed. “No one wants to hear you talk anyMORE. I’m sure they’ve all got the gist of it by noW.”
“Hehe~ No worries, Senpai! Sora and the others already understand the rules!” Sora smiled reassuringly, relieved to see Tsumugi’s jittery color steady.
“…What rules?” Leo asked.
Yuuki smacked himself on the forehead. “All of us will be transported into a random part of the game world that Switch made, in the same general vicinity. The person who spawns in with a watch will need to stop everyone from reaching the exit before fifteen minutes is up.”
“You’re sure this thing won’t mess with our brains…?” Esu skeptically examined the headset in his hands.
“No matter what world he is in, Yume will be content as long as he’s with Esu ♪” Fuyume sing-songed.
Esu shivered. “I really hope I end up getting put on the opposite side of the map from Fuyume, just so I can enjoy life for at least a little while without my psychotic childhood friend clinging onto me!”
“No need to worRY.” Natsume chuckled mischievously. “We’ve already tested this technology on willing particiPANTS.”
Yuuki suspiciously raised an eyebrow. “…What do you mean?”
The redheaded magician pointedly looked away from Tsumugi, exuding a color of mild embarrassment despite his poker face. “It doesn’t matTER. What matters is that the headsets are safe to usE… besides the 0.1% chance that the program induces memory loss. If anyTHING, our magic will be able to fix yoU .”
Yuuki paled. “That doesn’t sound very reassuring!?”
“Hoho~ No worries, Yuuki-sensee~ Sora will be there to help if anything happens!”
“R-Right!” Yuuki grinned determinedly, his competitiveness filling the entire room with an adventurous color. “We’ll win this thing for sure!”
“WAHAHAHA~ ☆ ” Leo kicked his legs excitedly as he fiddled around with the headset. “I can already feel the inspiration coming~!”
Natsume snatched the headset from the music composer, glaring at the childish whines and pleas he received. “You should be thankful I’m letting you touch the SSVRS after the mess you dragged Midori-kun inTO. This is just some testing for the SSVRS’ capabilities and getting some behavioral daTA, so do not make me regret thiS.” He handed back the headset only when Leo stopped flailing around.
Sora watched everyone’s consciousness drift away from them as they put their SSVRS headsets on, and he offered one small smile to his fellow magicians before joining the rest of the game participants.
The world turned pitch-black.
“…”
“…un.”
After the world turned white, Sora and everyone else had been booted from the game world, but he was still coming down from the adrenaline high… He was able to see colors that he’d never witnessed before from his friends. Hopefully, they would be able to do it again.
“…kun.”
“…a-kun.”
Sora really hadn’t thought that the small chance of memory loss would end up happening during their test run. He and Yuuki would have to work out more of the kinks when game testing…
“…wa-kun.”
“…awa-kun.”
Even so, the experience of getting all his memories back was unforgettable to Sora. It felt like a magic lantern illuminating the darkness, bringing back all the memories and colors he hadn’t even known he’d lost.
“…kawa-kun.”
“Harukawa-kun!”
Oh, right! Sora flipped his headset off, and he took a moment to orient himself as his eyes adjusted to the colors of the Leo-Natsume-Nazuna dorm, where all the other players besides Yuuki were also getting their bearings after returning to reality. “Yuuki-sensee~ Yuuki-sensee~ Yuuki-sensei~! Everyone did it!”
The game expert chuckled, “We sure did!”
Fuyume sighed disappointedly. “And I was so close too…”
Esu stood up and bowed apologetically to Sora. “Sorry, guys! Fuyume realized something was up when we heard Yuuki-senpai scream, and he managed to get away from me! Since he knew where he was going and I didn’t, it took me a while to figure where he went!”
“It’s all okay,” Sora giggled, flashing a wide grin. “Games are the most fun when the outcome of who will win is unpredictable!”
“Speaking of…” Esu indignantly crossed his arms and glared at Natsume. “We did end up losing out memories after all!”
The normally confident magician shuffled his feet awkwardly. “WelL… I did warn yoU, technicaLLY…”
The dark blond gamer quirked a brow. “I don’t understand. Weren’t you and Aoba-senpai supposed to be watching over the game world in case something happened?”
Tsumugi’s color turned a rosy pink, but Natsume’s was almost an overpowering shade of red, deeper than his hair, flooding the entire room.
Sora quietly giggled to himself.
Yuuki, apparently also able to tell that Natsume didn’t want to answer, immediately switched the subject. “A-Anyway… that really was cutting it down to the wire. How much time was left until the game was over?”
Natsume checked the device he was holding while patting Sora’s head. “Seventeen seconds.”
Sora held his master’s hand. “If Sora didn’t get his memories back at the end of the game, it might have taken longer to figure out how to unlock the dome. Sora got very lucky ♪”
Yuuki chuckled nervously, scratching his cheek. “I also got pretty lucky getting my memories back after I got tossed into the air… Who knew getting eaten just boots you out the game?”
“How did you get your memories bacK?” Natsume enquired, his deep red beginning to pale.
“O-Oh… I, uh… got reminded of that time Oogami-kun threw me off the school roof…”
Tsumugi blinked. “…What?”
“Again, again!” Leo shouted. “Wait, I need to compose before we go back in! I didn’t have anything to write with in there! What’s the big deal!? This is oppression! CENSORSHIP!”
“Leo-san also got his memories back!” Sora pointed out.
Natsume glared at the composer. “How the helL!? HonestLY, I have no idea how you even got your memoRIES, because you act just as erratic with or without theM. What triggered your memories to come bacK?”
Leo hummed.
“Answer mE!”
“Oh! Sorry, Nacchan. I just tried to carve a music piece into one of the trees, but I realized the density was different than when I usually try to do it. The snow didn’t taste right. The leaves were bland. There were just so many inconsistencies that it was obvious it was a game world, and then it was alllll back in my head, like ‘BLOP’! IT WAS SO INSPIRING, THE SENSATION OF EVERYTHING COMING BACK, WAHAHAHAHA~☆”
“Wait, am I the only who didn’t get his memories back!?” Esu whined. “Dang it… how did Fuyume even get them at the beginning of the game? Talk about an unfair advantage.”
“Fuyume was reminded of all the times he would sneak up on you to watch you while sleep~♪” The mellow boy sidled up to Esu in an attempt to cuddle him.
“EAUGHH!?” Esu leapt away and jumped behind Yuuki. He turned to Natsume with a desperate color reflected in his eyes. “You said there was a prize for winning the game, right?”
The leader of Switch nodded. “Of coursE. As magiCIANS, we aim to pleasE. I will grant you all one wish within my poWER, as proMISED. Please make it a doable reQUEST.”
“GIVE ME STUFF TO WRITE WITH!” Leo demanded.
“Very welL,” Natsume sighed. “Although I would do that for you normaLLY.” He snapped his fingers, and a few writing utensils and a stack of paper poofed out of a smoke cloud, landing directly in front of Leo. Natsume’s nose scrunched in mild disgust as the Leo trilled, scribbling at light speed and sending flecks of lead flying.
“Me next!” Esu shouted. “I want you to make Fuyume leave me alone for the rest of my life!”
“You want Yume to be with you for the rest of your life? Yume can do that ♪” Fuyume wrapped his arms around Esu from behind.
“That’s definitely not what I said!? HELP!?”
Natsume snapped his fingers, and Fuyume gasped before disappearing in a cloud of rainbow smoke. “I’m afraid I can only do a daY.”
Esu coughed out a few colorful puffs as he gave a thumbs up.
“What about you, Harukawa-kun?” Yuuki asked. “Is there something you wish for?”
“Hihi~ Sora wishes to be able to keep playing with Yuuki-senpai, Senpai, Shisho~, and everyone else for a long time ♪” Sora grinned up at his fellow Switch members.
“Aww,” Tsumugi cooed. “I also want the same… N-Natsume-kun, are you okay?” He steadily backed away from the redhead.
Natsume’s expression darkened, and he clenched his fist. His color beamed with self-contained fondness and affection just waiting to burst. “I… I’ll try my best to fulfill your wisH…”
Yuuki side-hugged Sora. “I hope we can keep gaming for a long time too! There are so many things we haven’t gotten the chance to try out yet!”
“Sooo, when are we going back in!?” Leo whined.
Yuuki grinned competitively. “Harukawa-kun, are you up for another round?”
“Count Sora in ♪” Sora chimed.
Esu shrugged. “Might be nice to try that again without Fuyume around. And with our memories around this time.”
“Okay everyONE, headsets back on when I say— TSUKINAGA-SENPAI…!” Natsume groaned into his hand. “WhatevER. He’ll face the repercussions of his actions laTER. Everyone is good to go now!”
“See you on the other side, Harukawa-kun!” Yuuki put on his headset.
Sora watched Yuuki’s color dilute before putting on his own headset.
Sora woke up alone, a large aquamarine watch attached to his wrist. In contrast to the previous dull landscape, he’d found himself in a colorful, almost overstimulating, new world. The sky was a cotton candy green, and instead of pine trees and berry bushes, giant lollipops sprouted out of the ground and giant macarons littered the delicious landscape. Cakes the size of three-story buildings stood in the distance and eaten chocolate bars served as archways.
A holographic Natsume suddenly appeared in front of the small magician, his color a wispy version of his in-person self. “SoRA, please tell me you still have your memoRIES.”
“Haha~ No need to worry, Shisho~”
The holographic magician sighed in relief. “Thank GoD. That means all of you should be alRIGHT, but I’ll go check on the others just to be surE. Please notify me if anything else goes wrong in the virtual worlD.”
“You can count on Sora!” Sora bowed politely as Natsume disappeared into cyberspace.
“Harukawa-kun!” Yuuki popped up from behind a candy cane, grunting as he pulled his foot out of a pile of whipped cream he stepped in. “Looks like we’re the first to find each other again.”
Sora held his watch behind his back and smiled. Let the game begin, Yuuki-sensei ♪