“…Anyway, like I said, it was a very strange dream,” said Kaguya Shinohara, frowning in the meeting hall of the Charon barracks. She ran her fingers through her scarlet hair, which was meticulously pulled back, as she described her dream from the previous night.
“A strange dream?” said the other young woman with a smirk. It was Kaguya’s roommate, Koyuki Asaharu. “Are you sure it wasn’t just something you read before going to bed last night? You have been reading a lot of strange stuff lately, you know.”
“Hmm… I’m pretty sure the only thing I read last night was a YA novel…”
Kaguya always had to read something before she went to bed. After first joining Charon, it had been mostly scientific papers and research materials, but lately, she was mostly reading novels. Given her routine, it would make sense for something from a book to seep into her dreams, but last night she had been reading a standard coming-of-age YA novel.
It had been a love story set in a school—a place that Kaguya didn’t have much familiarity with at all.
“It seemed like you were having a bad dream, though, Kaguya. You scared the stuffing out of me, jumping out of bed in the middle of the night like that!”
“Koyuki, shhh! You don’t need to go around mentioning that,” said Kaguya, smacking at Koyuki repeatedly, her face slightly red with embarrassment. Koyuki dodged and laughed teasingly.
“It was no laughing matter, Lieutenant Shinohara.”
This time, it was the teal-haired Second Lieutenant Haru Takanashi who spoke as she appeared from behind them. She sat down across from Kaguya with an unopened bottle of soda in her hand.
“Try to put yourself in our shoes, as your roommates. I barely got any sleep after being woken up like that,” she said, futilely twisting the cap on her beverage, which she couldn’t quite seem to wrestle open.
She began to shake it up and down vigorously, growing desperate. The girl next to Haru took the bottle and set it down softly on the table, casting a sidelong glance at the now sullen Haru. The girl was sitting directly across from Koyuki.
“I bet you agree with us, too…,” insisted Koyuki. “Don’t you…Sakura?”
“Hrm?” At that point, the girl, who had pink hair and was sipping on a juice box, turned her eyes toward Koyuki and Kaguya for the first time.
Her name was Sakura Arakawa, and she was the captain of their special ops squad.
“Sorry, I wasn’t listening. What were we talking about?” she asked.
“We were talking about Kaguya waking us up with her nightmares,” replied Koyuki.
“Oh,” said Sakura, a smile blossoming across her face. “It’s not that bad. I think it’s cute. It’s very Kaguya of her.”
“Cute? More like creepy. She really scared us last night,” said Haru.
Kaguya blatantly began to sulk.
Sakura flashed her a sisterly smile. “What was the dream about?”
“Um… Someone was arguing with somebody, I think. And then I heard my name.”
Kaguya tried recalling her dream, which was already growing hazy as she spoke. With each passing moment, the resolution of the dream continued to fade, and only a vague impression was left behind.
“It was from when I was a kid, I think? Maybe it was my brother…?”
“Your brother? You mean Captain Shinohara? He’s with Major Mirai,” said Koyuki.
Kaguya’s brother was currently one of Major Mirai’s colleagues over at the Combat Support Branch.
Kaguya and her brother had not always been close, but after he brought Kaguya back when she had almost turned into a hero, the two reconciled. The dream must have been a memory from that time.
“What was Captain Shinohara’s first name again?” Sakura asked.
“Pretty sure it was Ren, wasn’t it?” Koyuki offered.
“Oh yeah! That’s right. A bit rough around the edges but a pretty nice guy.”
Although she interacted with him daily, Sakura had a strange habit of forgetting the man’s name.
Ren Shinohara. His role at the Combat Support Branch, together with Major Mirai, was overseeing Charon. He was already twenty-four years old and had not encountered a hero for four years.
A voice suddenly blared over the wireless comms.
“Okay, ladies. It’s time to get a move on.”
The voice was low, gruff, and devoid of gentleness or concern. It resembled Rindou’s voice somewhat, but instead of Rindou’s roughness, a cold ruthlessness lurked below its surface.
“R-Ren.”
It was Kaguya’s brother, Ren Shinohara. He supervised Charon together with Mirai over at Combat Support. He was as curt as always, only telling them what they needed to know.
“Tokyo Ward Seven. Tough luck, but it’s close to a nursery school.”
In a place where there were lots of children, panic was sure to ensue. They all stood up, realizing what was at stake. However, their squad captain, Sakura, held Kaguya back.
“Kaguya, are you sure you want to go today?”
“What? Yes, of course, I’ll be fine.”
“There’s no need to push yourself… You went yesterday as well, remember?”
Yesterday—for some reason, that word made Kaguya feel strange inside.
“But if I don’t go…how will I save the hero?”
“That’s a fair point. Back in the day, I knew this was something only you could do, but now we can all do it. I wish you would rely on us a little bit more.”
“What…?”
“You can’t dive into the heroes’ minds and take on their psyches all by yourself. It’s too much for you.”
“I…guess I forgot.”
Kaguya felt strangely confused. She had this sense that she was the only one who could dive into the heroes’ minds—as if she had been handling it all by herself because no one else could. Was that…not the case?
“It’s too much stress, Kaguya, trying to shoulder everything alone,” Koyuki said, her voice scattering Kaguya’s doubts. “It was crazy the last time it was Rindou’s turn, though, wasn’t it? Remember how he stopped the hero? With a punch?”
“Honestly, I think he could do with being a little less violent.”
“He does use that violence to save people, though, Haru. Different strokes, I guess.”
Oh, that’s right. Now Kaguya remembered.
Everyone at Charon could enter the heroes’ minds now: Koyuki, Sakura, Haru, and even Rindou. It had been Haru’s turn last time, and Rindou’s the time before that.
They didn’t have a strict system or anything, but Sakura had suggested cycling the responsibility in shifts to ensure that no one got overwhelmed.
For some reason, Kaguya suddenly felt like bursting into tears. How strange. She had already known that everyone could do this, hadn’t she? And yet, for some reason, she felt as if she had been juggling everything by herself.
“In that case…maybe I will take you up on your offer and stay back this one time.”
“Good idea. You can hold the fort down for us while we’re gone.”
With that settled, Sakura reached for the long weapon sitting by her side—a staff. When had it gotten there?
“Huh?” Kaguya blinked. “You’re not using your katana today, Sakura?”
A hush immediately fell over the hall. As soon as Kaguya said katana, she felt bewildered. No one at Charon used a katana. Why would she say something like that?
“Kaguya, are you sure you’re not still dreaming?” Koyuki asked.
“We’ve never had anyone here who uses a katana. Just who in the heck are you confusing me with?” said Sakura.
Kaguya looked down, embarrassed, while Koyuki and Sakura laughed. Who had she been thinking of? Why a katana? Kaguya was just as confused as they were.
“N-never mind… Ha-ha-ha, maybe I am still dreaming.”
“Honestly…”
Amused smirks appeared on all their faces. The other girls were staring at Kaguya like someone might stare at their goofball younger sister.
A part of Kaguya’s heart grew warm. No one was relying on her anymore; she didn’t have to shoulder all that responsibility now.
I hope things can last like this forever, she thought.
“It has been one week today since Lieutenant Kaguya Shinohara fell unconscious.”
Over in Extermination Bureau Headquarters, several members of Charon had gathered in a hospital room in the specialized medical ward under Azuma’s command. Lying in the bed by the window was a young woman in a coma.
A young woman with scarlet hair—Kaguya Shinohara.
“Since falling unconscious during the hero battle that occurred one week ago, Kaguya has been like an empty shell, with steady vitals but no signs of awareness. As for the hero in question, there were no obvious differences between it and any other hero that has appeared before now,” explained Captain Azuma as he stood next to the bed. He looked tired. “In short, her condition remains unchanged.”
The air in the room seemed to deflate like a balloon. Disappointment filled the space. A week had already passed; at this point, the chance of her waking up again appeared slim. They were all beginning to fear the same thing.