The night grew darker.
The room lights had been turned off long ago. The only sounds were the hum of the air conditioner and the soft breathing of the sleeping girls.
Airi slowly opened her eyes.
Her stomach felt uncomfortable.
She carefully got out of bed so she wouldn't wake anyone, then quietly walked out of the room toward the restroom at the end of the hallway.
The restroom door was closed.
Airi entered and locked it from the inside.
Not long afterward—
Click.
The lock was turned from outside.
Airi froze.
"Hey... Hana?" she called softly, panic creeping into her voice. "Open the door."
A small laugh came from outside.
"Open it yourself," Hana replied casually.
"Yeah," Luna added. "Don't be so spoiled."
Then their footsteps slowly faded away.
Airi bit her lip.
Her hands clenched into fists.
She tried opening the door.
It wouldn't budge.
"...They're going too far," she muttered.
---
Meanwhile, inside the room—
Hana threw herself onto the bed.
"Ahh... that feels good."
Luna stretched her body.
"Just leave her in there. Maybe she'll learn her lesson."
Rina was about to lie down—
when she suddenly froze.
"Uh..."
Her voice trembled.
"Do you guys see that?"
Beside the bed stood someone who looked exactly like Airi.
Black hair.
The same posture.
An empty stare.
And in her hand—
a knife.
The figure smiled faintly.
"Checkmate."
Hana's scream was caught in her throat.
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
"W-Wait," Luna said, trembling. "Isn't Airi in the restroom?!"
Rina pointed at the figure with a shaking hand.
"If that's Airi... then who was in the restroom?!"
The three of them immediately ran toward the restroom in panic.
Hana turned the lock and violently opened the door.
Airi stumbled out.
"Eh? Why are you guys screaming?"
They stared at Airi...
then looked at one another.
"If this is Airi..." Rina said, her voice almost breaking, "then who was in the room just now?"
"What are you talking about?" Airi asked in confusion.
They returned to the room together.
It was empty.
There was no one there.
No knife.
No strange figure.
"It disappeared...?" Hana muttered, her face pale.
"What disappeared?" Airi asked.
Luna swallowed nervously.
"There was... someone who looked like you. She was holding a knife."
"And it definitely wasn't a hallucination," Rina quickly added.
Airi slowly shook her head.
"Maybe you guys just saw it wrong..."
Suddenly—
BANG!
The bedroom door slammed shut by itself.
The air suddenly became cold.
They all turned around.
Behind them, the figure was standing there again.
Still looking like Airi.
The knife was still in its hand.
"I told you... it was real..." Hana whispered, looking like she was about to faint.
Luna and Rina screamed softly and stepped backward.
Airi swallowed nervously.
Her heart was pounding hard, but she took one step forward.
"W-Wait," she said with a trembling voice. "Who are you? What do you want from us?"
The figure looked at each of them.
"From you?" it said calmly.
"No."
"I'm only showing myself."
"What does that mean...?" Airi asked.
The figure stepped closer.
"Have you forgotten me?"
Airi frowned.
"Forgotten you? I don't even remember ever meeting you."
The figure remained silent for a moment.
Then its appearance changed.
Its hair became shorter.
Its posture changed.
Its gaze became sharper.
The knife disappeared.
Now standing before them—
was a man.
"Oh..." he said with a small smile. "That's pretty bad."
"I'm Arou."
Airi stared blankly at him.
"Arou...? Who?"
Hana's eyes widened.
"He can change his appearance?!"
"Is this a dream or reality...?" Luna whispered.
Rina trembled.
"Airi... who is he?"
"I don't know either," Airi answered honestly.
Arou stepped closer and touched Airi's forehead with two fingers.
"Now... how about it?"
In an instant—
Airi's head felt overwhelmed.
Fragments of memories rushed into her mind.
Tears.
Promises.
Someone who had always stood in front of her whenever she was hurt.
"Now you remember."
Airi's eyes widened.
Tears immediately streamed down her cheeks.
"Arou...?" Airi's voice cracked.
She stepped forward and hugged him tightly.
"You came back...?"
Arou smiled gently.
"Yeah."
"Dear."
Hana stared at them in shock.
"E-Eh...?"
"She hugged him..." Luna whispered.
"And he called her 'dear'..." Rina added in disbelief.
They looked at Airi.
"Airi..." Rina said quietly. "Who is he?"
Airi was still holding onto Arou, her shoulders trembling.
She slowly turned toward them.
"...He's..."
Her voice trembled, but her words were certain.
"The person who used to protect me."
And that night—
Airi's secret finally began to reveal itself.
---
Airi slowly wiped away her tears.
"Then?" Airi asked softly. "What are you doing here?"
Arou briefly glanced toward the bedroom door.
His expression became cold as he looked at the shadows of Hana, Luna, and Rina behind it.
"Let's go outside," Arou said calmly.
"There's too much interference here."
Airi hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Alright."
As soon as they stepped outside the room—
Arou took Airi's hand.
In an instant, the world seemed to spin.
The night wind brushed against Airi's face.
They were now standing on the roof of the hotel beneath a dark sky filled with stars.
"What—?" Airi exclaimed in surprise.
"Why are we here?"
"I don't want anyone to know," Arou replied simply.
"But they already know," Airi said. "Hana, Luna, and Rina..."
"Only three people," Arou replied casually.
"I can reset their memories later."
Airi gave a small scoff.
"Just because you can do anything you want..."
Arou chuckled softly.
"Heheh... that's how it is."
Airi looked at the sky for a moment before turning back toward him.
"Then? Why did you come back?"
Arou fell silent.
The night wind gently moved his hair.
"I just... missed you," he said honestly.
"And the world I once created."
Airi frowned.
"That's all?"
"Yeah," Arou replied.
"But there's something that confuses me."
"What?"
"When Zata closed the book," Arou said quietly, "why didn't all of you cease to exist?"
"There was no one left to write about you."
Airi gave a small, bitter smile.
"We're not just words on a page."
Arou turned toward her.
"Here," Airi continued, "we have desires. Lives. Pain. Just like you."
"So even if no one writes about us anymore... we still live."
Arou remained silent for a long time.
"I see..." he murmured.
"I was so busy with my real world that I forgot I had left lives behind in this one."
"That's okay," Airi said gently.
"But don't use this world as an escape anymore, okay?"
Arou smiled faintly.
"Alright."
He looked at Airi.
"By the way... how's your life now?"
Airi gave a humorless laugh.
"Same as usual. I get bullied, forced to do other people's homework, framed for things I didn't do... all kinds of things."
Arou chuckled softly.
"That's pretty ironic. A supreme human being getting bullied by ordinary humans."
Airi quickly turned toward him.
"Supreme human being?"
"You," Arou replied simply.
"What do you mean?"
"I created data for every human in this world," Arou explained.
"And you're ranked above Nova and Nora."
Airi was shocked.
"Wait—wasn't Nova ranked first?"
"She used to be," Arou replied.
"Not anymore."
"Why?"
"Because I made you almost like me."
Airi fell silent.
"Almost... like you?"
Arou nodded.
"Your power is still sealed. If you want, I can restore it."
Airi quickly shook her head.
"No. What would I even use it for? Besides, there aren't any monsters."
"You're right," Arou replied.
"Then how about just your speed?"
Airi frowned.
"What for?"
"So you won't get left behind by the bus," Arou replied casually.
"And you could carry Nanao if necessary."
Airi's eyes widened.
"Me? Carry a guy? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
Arou smiled.
"If Nanao had to carry you all the way home from here, he'd collapse first."
Airi clicked her tongue.
"Fine."
Then she suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right... Do you know where we're going during the study trip?"
Arou nodded.
"The zoo. After that, the largest aquarium."
"I see," Airi said with relief.
"Thanks for telling me."
"You're welcome."
Airi looked at Arou.
"Now... teleport me back to the room."
"Oh, right," Arou said, tapping his forehead.
"I almost forgot."
A brief flash of light surrounded Airi.
---
Meanwhile—
inside the room.
Hana sat there hugging her knees.
Luna stared at the floor.
Rina tightly gripped her blanket.
"She's... not an ordinary human," Luna whispered.
Hana swallowed nervously.
"What have we... been doing to her all this time?"
Rina remained silent for a long moment.
"If everything we did to Airi... was real..."
No one laughed.
No one made another insult.
All that remained was the guilt that had begun to haunt them.
And that night—
Airi wasn't the one who couldn't sleep.
They were.