A fresh week, fresh excitement, and eagerness filled the air. Though it did rgely e from one person and may or may not be an Illusion Field. After a sullen weekend that lingered on, something o break that energy. At least that was the motive, for one such person. Everyone had different motives, some more questionable.

  But let’s go with the positive one first!

  Yuki tightened his fists together, psyg himself up. He pushed away stray thoughts, and approached Saki with a pleasant smile. “Hey Saki! You don’t have practice after css, right?”

  It took a moment for Yuki’s voice to reach Saki pletely. She turned slowly to see that he was talking to her. “Uh? Yuki?”

  “Right?”

  The look on his face was warm aermined, making it difficult for Saki to ignore him. Unfortunately, Saki could only look clueless at him. “What are you talking about?”

  Ignored aed, Yuki slumped over. “You didn’t hear anything I said?” Her shaking head only made Yuki cry to know that all of his energy had been wasted. However, he wasn't going to give up and straightened himself back up reinvigorating his determination. “You don’t have practice, right?”

  “…yeah…?”

  “Good! Then I want to go somewhere different today!” Yuki excimed, nearly jumping with excitement over the idea.

  Chapter 46 – Strange Meetings

  Before Saki could even give an answer, even a fused one, Yuki bounced over. Half of the css still hung around, which meant everyone heard him broadcasting his pns. That meant Yumi and her friends as well, who Yuki noticed up.

  He appeared before them with a big smile, which might have seemed like a horror vilin if he didn’t look so genuine. “Are you ied, Yumi? We’re going for the group dist!”

  Kaede immediately put an arm out in front of Yuki. “Hey! We were talking privately, Hayashi.”

  “So you’re not ied? I heard it’s really fun!”

  Saki hurried over to grab him. “Stop b your cssmates. I’ll go.”

  “Really?” He jumped away like a kid following Saki. They returo the nervous Ayumi with Hiroshi and his friends joining up.

  The distaween Yumi and the rest suddenly felt like a river. She stared deeply at the cheerful expressions from Yuki and the boys. The grounded Saki bonked Yuki to make sense, while Ayumi timidly filed. ‘They all look so happy…’

  She looked over at Kaede and Katsumi as they stood between her and the others. Yumi tried to open her mouth, but stopped. Her eyes darted around to her friends again. Watg them pushed everything away until she saw Yuki gnced halfway towards her. His words came back to her.

  ‘To not foy past that I ’t ge, but towards my future which still be different.’

  ‘A different…future…’ Yumi o herself. She stepped forward a couple steps. “Um…I…”

  “Yumi? What’s wrong?”

  “You okay?”

  Her friends stared at her. She squeezed her hands. Their and proteade her happy, but she wanted something new. “I…! Hayashi!” Her voice raised louder thaended and she spped hands over her mouth.

  It had been enough though for him to hear. “Yeah?”

  “Oh I’m sorry, was he being too loud again? Apologize Yuki!”

  “I was using my inside voice.”

  “You never do!”

  “You aren’t now.”

  “Yuki!”

  “I want to e too! If…the invite…is…” He immediately bounced around Saki. Yuki nodded rapidly to her and motioned her over. “Th-thank you.”

  “Hiroshi Kuroda. Tatsuya Mori. Kazuhiro Nanase. Saki Furukawa. Ayumi Nishimura. Everyone, Yumi!” As he introduced the group they politely weled her. She still hovered to the edge with her friends.

  “Kaede Ayabito.”

  “Katsumi Soseki.”

  With greetings passed, Saki pulled Yuki ba. “So you going to expin this hing?”

  “It’s this awesome p town I heard about!” Yuki’s eyes were glowing like a child’s innod full of joy as it could be clear that he was imagining things in his mind.

  Saki spped him in the head again, notig that he was losing trol of his powers. “You’re skipping the details, Yuki…”

  “Hey, quit hitting me!” Yuki dried up his tears from the pain auro his previous state, pletely lost in the illusions. “Details, alright…I wa to be a surprise…” He began to look down at his foot aimlessly fidgeting, beied.

  Yumi leaned in with curiosity to know what Yuki wao do. The sad expression that Yuki had immediately drew her towards him. “It’s alright... I don’t mind a surprise. It might be fun!”

  A recharge from Yumi was all he o return his excitement. “Let’s go, everyone!”

  Yumi tried to smile and nod while her friends questioheir own involvement. Following in behind was Hiroshi with his friends looking a little mischievous. Walking only made it so far as the school entrance before they were interrupted by two short shadowed figures that came running in towards them.

  The short figures were faster than anyone could see being only a blur as they rushed for Yuki. Distracted in his excitement, Yuki was caught off guard by what happened until it was too te. The two blurs attached themselves to Yuki. A momehey shed their bed cover with light illuminating their faces.

  Ken had climbed up on Yuki’s back hanging off his nebsp; Jun silently held on to the edge of his uniform’s coat staring up at him. Surprise knocked him back a step. “Ken! Jun! What are you guys doing here? Shouldn’t you be home?”

  Kaede and Katsumi leaned around curious about the elementary schoolers. Their energy came off iiously making them start smiling. “Who are you two?”

  Ke go of Yuki seeing the girls close to Jun. He walked over to Kaede looking very fident. “We came to see Yuki! I’m Ken and this is Jun! Who are you?”

  “Oh I’m Kaede! Came to see Hayashi? How e?”

  “He’s brother! sister let us go py!”

  “They’re so adorable!” Katsumi said, grinning to herself.

  Ken looked over at Jun giving him a smile with a mischievous sparkle along and victory sign. Jun pleasantly nodded in agreement with his brother. “Operation Cool and Cute was a success!” Ken decred to his brother, words that went mostly ignored by the others.

  Yuki k dowo his brothers, rubbing their hair. “I wish you’d told me ahead of time. I’m spending some time with my friends today.”

  The disappoi came clear over their faces. Yumi leaned down fighting her ay. “Um…is where we’re going…safe for children?”

  “Yeah, I don’t see why not. You don’t mind?” Some quick silent exges weween everyone. The mute agreemeled everything, two more joihe party.

  The rge group of students, plus two elementary students, wiheir way through the city. After school hours made the sidewalks their usually busy selves with students. It didn't help that Hiroshi’s dires forced them to travel through the busiest parts.

  “This should be the st turn…” said Hiroshi as he checked the paper again. He turned his head side to side looking at the fork in the alley.

  “This guy’s been sayin’ that for the st twenty minutes!” Ken said, kig a bottle on the ground into the adjat wall.

  Ayumi sighed heavily, developing a pouting lip on her face from being so tired. “I’m so hungry…”

  “We’re almost there, guys…” Hiroshi looked at the paper for a sed time. ‘I think…’

  “e on! Hiroshi said we’re almost there!”

  “You’re the only oill excited…” a long voice said from Katsumi.

  Kaede’s eyes were half closed with her eyebrows pulled down in stress. “Where does all of his energy e from…”

  No longer able to wait with his excitement, Yuki took a turn and charged down the alley. Saki reached out for him, but had nth for a real attempt. The group turo look around at each other, but mostly at Hiroshi with an implying gre. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he tried to back away from the frightening looks he was getting. However, they were all interrupted by Yuki returning screaming with excitement. “I found it!”

  No one seemed to be looking at Yuki with their gaze on Hiroshi. “See he found it! I kneere close, right?” Yuki waved at them befetting a dumbfounded expression on his fused face.

  Jun took Yuki’s side quickly followed by Ken. Kaede and Katsumi’s eyes were turowards the two boys and they took to Yuki as well. The rest were quick to fall in pce as Yuki eagerly directed them to the pce that he had found. Yet when they reached the building everyone just stood still in disbelief. No one could say a word for what they were looking at shattered their preceptions of what was thought to be possible.

  “Pretty cool, huh?”

  “…right…” Saki finally said, as though she struggled to pull it out from her mouth.

  “…I didn’t think it ossible…” replied Tatsuya as he tried to pull himself away from the sight.

  Kazuhiro nodded slowly, still wide eyed by the building. “…unique…”

  “…is that a skeleton?” Kaede tried to take everything in.

  Being called a nightmare of design would still be uating the appearanbsp; The building, if all of the decoration ulled away, turned out to be a simple four floor structure rge enough for several rooms to fit inside on each floor. Drawing the eye though was the single marble he door o the fake skeletal remains of a bizarre winged lizard-like animal. Opposite of the n and door was a cy surface with Arab designs and a metal wire mesh. All coated in the worst possible color binations of purple, pink, red and e. The door seemed almost embarrassed to be present among the rest as it was a simple Japanese wood sliding panel door.

  Yuki pulled back by the building, lifting his arm up in a presenting maill ignorant of his friend’s reas. “Ready to go inside?” All of them stepped baeasy, including Hiroshi.

  “I wouldn’t be caught dead ihat pce!” Katsumi hid behind Yumi with Kaede behind her.

  “Must be the wrong pce, Yuki!” Hiroshi quickly pulled up his sheet of paper to look at it again. The others were nodding in agreement with him or whispering simir words.

  Amongst the discordant voices and distracted eyes the door to the shop opened and a woman in a beautiful green kimono stepped out. She went ignored by everyoher than Yuki, who olitely bowing to her. The students tio leave her unnoticed until she finally spoke up in a soft traveling voice that mao quiet them. “Wele to the Mi Hana Shop!”

  She was quick to gain everyone’s attention, especially Hiroshi and his friends. “Woah-um…I mean it would be rude to leave now that we’re here.” Hiroshi tried quickly to reverse the decision. The young woman that greeted them filled out her kimono very well making it difficult for him to ignore.

  Saki still tried to get over the storefront and looked over at the storekeeper. Yuki had left them in the dark about the nature of the business. “So what sort of shop is the Mi Hana?”

  “We specialize in making your fantasies e true!”