Fractal Plane: Beyond Public Eyes

Chapter 18 - Feelings that Stay Forever

1

When Kazuki came to, the first thing that he noticed was how smooth the ground rubbing against his cheek was. It felt nothing like the rocky plate that he had just been in. After blinking his eyes repeatedly, rows of seats and unmoving forms of people came to his view.

"I'm back?"

Also, there was a weight pressing down across his back. As he tried to get up, he heard a thud and a subsequent shout that startled him.

"Ow! What are you doing?!" shouted Kimura. She seemed ready to launch more tirades before realizing where she was.

"E-eh? Wait, this is..."

"Welcome back, Kimura. We won, I guess."

Kazuki got up and smiled at the idol who was at a loss for words.

However, this was no time for celebration. He did not wait for Kimura's reply before looking at the rows of unconscious people. Wasting little time, he leapt off the stage and quickly skipped past the people, headed straight to one place in particular.

Locating his seat, he hurriedly knelt down beside Hikari's unconscious body.

"Hikari! Hikari!"

There was no doubt that they had already defeated the Render of Bounds. Even before the Nullity's final defeat, he had sensed the life essence of people leaving its body.

"Big Bro..."

Kazuki's eyes widened and his pulse quickened, only to be disappointed to still see Hikari's unmoving eyelids. He swore that he could have heard her voice call out to him, but seeing his sister's body still lifeless, his heart sunk.

He had never felt more disappointed by his imagination.

"Arata..."

Amagi approached him with a solemn look on her face. She looked as tired and worn out as he was, and her face did not have the spark of positivity that Kazuki was used to seeing.

"Amagi... Thank goodness you're alright!"

Having last seen her scream and fall alongside him, the sight of Amagi and the look of defeat on her face finally put his emotions over the edge. The bottled up feelings within him threatened to explode, but he only found his arms flopping to the ground.

He sniffed the air and closed his eyes to confirm another great fear. Mu's power still lingered in the auditorium. Even after the defeat of the Render of Bounds, traces of its existence remained.

"Why? We beat the damn thing already! Why?"

Without him anticipating it, Amagi stooped down, and the girl wrapped her arms around his head. Feeling the gentle pats on the back of his head, Kazuki found an urge to just plant his face onto his childhood friend and let his feelings out.

"Rest easy, Arata. Everyone's fine," said a stern, serious voice.

Uehara's voice shot Kazuki back into reality, and he almost reflexively pulled himself away from Amagi in an act of self-consciousness. However, it was the brunette who took the initiative, quickly releasing her embrace and clasping both hands together.

"U-uehara?" stammered Amagi while nervously chuckling. "Y-you're back early."

With raised eyebrows, Uehara stared at the both of them for a while before sighing. "Whatever," she said in a tone that implied that she was quite unamused with what she just saw.

"Anyway, Amagi and I have finished checking on these people. From what I can see, they are fine now. They just need that little push. Getting your energy drained like that is not something that you can expect ordinary people to easily get over, Arata."