Fractal Plane: Beyond Public Eyes

Chapter 8 - Heart-to-Heart

1

"She did not show up today, either..."

"Anything bothering you, Arata?"

Pulling his gaze away from the window and the bright afternoon sunlight, Kazuki turned to respond to his seatmate.

He stopped when he saw at the look of concern on her face. However, he knew that beyond those eyes now lay another expression.

Was it relief? Was it disdain? He cannot pinpoint it specifically.

"Missing your girlfriend already?" asked a sarcastic female voice.

Placing her bag on top of the empty desk in front of Kazuki, the classmate with long, black hair sat on an adjacent desk with a small frown on her face.

"I-it's not that!" Kazuki furiously shook his hand. "Didn't I tell you last night? No matter what Misawa's blogposts or people say online, it's all fake."

"Well, whatever it is, it sure landed her in deep trouble. You read those comments? Brutal."

"What more do I have to do to convince you two?" sighed Kazuki.

"She deserves it, though."

Kazuki and Uehara both stopped and stared the one who said that in such an unemotional tone. It was a surprise hearing Amagi with such a tone, and Kazuki had to do a double take at the brunette's stoic-looking face.

"Pardon?"

"I think I agree. It's not too obvious, but she hasn't been endearing herself with the people at school, at least those who weren't enamored with her like... 80% of the boys or something."

Kazuki felt that he had to read between the lines for the two girls.

"Anything you found last night?" asked Kazuki to Uehara.

"Just typical Nullities and minor Fragments. Nothing of the sort that you described. In that case..."

"That actually draws more suspicion the possibility of her opening the Fragments or being in cohorts with someone who is. Now, as to whether she's the Dr. Kagami or the Jay Shizaki in the latter scenario..." Rubbing his chin with his hand, Kazuki followed up his own statement.

"She's a devious one, we all know that. Just what could she be planning?"

There was no better time to brainstorm for the three of them, and while Ms. Sadohara had found herself held up in faculty matters, today's afterschool classroom provided a good enough place where they can gather their thoughts and start digging into the mystery.

For a while, at least... until their concentration was interrupted by a loud voice and some obnoxiously noisy footsteps.

"Haah! Haaah! Where is it?"

Shiki came barreling into the classroom, and given his expression, he was in a surprisingly serious mood.

"Where could I have put my prayer beads?" he thought out loud.

"Prayer beads?" asked Kazuki, being as surprised as everyone else.

"Y-yeah, I always had them around, hidden somewhere," continued Shiki as he scoured his desk and the compartment under the table. "Why today, of all days?"

"Woah, take it easy."

Kazuki, with the two girls, approached their friend, who continued to look everywhere with frantic motions. "You know, I want to question the existence of the prayer beads in the first place, but I think knowing the immediate issue is more important."