All I could hear in this moment was the sound of rain rushing past me.

...in my immediate vision was a lone woman.

Rinbayashi Amou.

She was like a ghost.

Her skin was paler than a sheet of paper, her long pitch-black hair was darker than space, and her vast cosmic hollow eyes sucked you in like a black hole.

Today too, her existence seemed almost translucent.

Like she stood in a world that was above all of ours.

In a realm none of us could reach, no matter how much we tried to seize it like her.

It was like she existed between the very fabric of reality and dreams.

If I didn't know any better, if you told me she was an alien princess from another world, I would believe it.

That was the sort of impression that Rinbayashi commanded.

Even though we were in the same class, we had only ever meaningfully interacted once.

She made small talk to me during our first war against 3rd Year A Class, but afterwards, both of us went on our separate ways.

Looking back, she was probably trying to sound out how I felt about our shared situation.

And like her, I didn't want to bring it up.

But when Nakajima started his rampage at school, Rinbayashi had no choice but to bring it up to me...

...because I didn't recognise her on our first meeting.

That was the first time she ever felt real.

Like she was on the same level I was.

I felt as though I could reach out and touch her.

She was there, in the present moment, by my side.

But that beauty was rendered destroyed by the black hole of the past.

Today too, her ephemerality was tainted by my knowledge of what was to come.

She passed by Megami and stood right in front of me.

Her eyes gazed into mine.

I really would fall.

"...Takanori-san."

Her quiet and soft voice cut through the white noise.

"Will you come with me?"

Rinbayashi extended her pale right hand out towards me.

It was so ghostly... so fragile... and so small.

Covered on her palms were faint streaks of freshly wiped blood.

"Um, excuse me?"

Before I could respond, Megami cut in between us.

Rinbayashi didn't so much as glance at her. She sidestepped forward, reentering the space in front of me.

Megami furrowed her eyebrows before cutting in between us again, this time grabbing Rinbayashi by the shoulder to stop her from moving.

"I apologise for being so forceful, but can you two stop ignoring me for a moment and explain what's going on?"

For the first time in their interaction, Rinbayashi looked at Megami.

When she did, Megami's reflexes forced her to step back.

"This doesn't concern you. Please don't worry about it."

Megami, who was usually quick-witted and sharp with her tongue, couldn't think of anything to say back to her.

"...why do you need me?"

When I asked that question, Rinbayashi looked back at me with her hypnotic gaze.

"You understand, don't you?"

Once again, the only thing I could hear was the sound of falling rain.

"...is it about—?"

Before I could finish, she nodded her head.

I looked down, narrowing my eyes.

Of course it is...

Of course it has to be about <that>.

Lifting my head, I glanced back at Megami.

Noticing my gaze, she shot back a look of dissatisfaction.

"What? I don't have a clue what's going on either. In fact, I—"

"Megami-san."

For once, she quieted down.

The sound of rushing rain filled my ears louder than ever before.

I quietly thought that would be the last time I'd ever get to hear such a soothing sound.

"Please go on ahead. I'm terminating our working relationship. Both with you and Shimizu-san."

Megami's eyes widened.

"I'd appreciate if you informed this to her on my behalf."

I walked past Megami and joined Rinbayashi, signalling I was in.

"Wait, Takanori-san, what are you—"

"Later."

It was cruel, but I cut her off short as me and Rinbayashi advanced in the direction she came from.

Even though I could hear Megami was calling out my name and telling me to wait, my mind didn't register any of it.

The only things I could focus on were the rattling rain and Rinbayashi's whispery voice.

"Thank you for choosing me, Takanori-san."

It's not like I had a choice in the matter anyways.

She was leading me headfirst into darkness, but I blindly followed her into the dangers that waited up ahead.

The stage of the final battle was being set up faster than I had anticipated.

We weren't even halfway through the challenge, yet the time for playing around had ended.

...my only regret was not being able to help Shimizu find a hider, like I'd promised.

Without speaking a single word to me, Rinbayashi guided me through an off-beaten, narrow path at the edge of the forest.

At the end of this dark and twisted road was a large clearing, one that connected with a long slope and lead to a lower level.

Rinbayashi took one step forward and glided down on it, using the slippery mud to propel her forward. From my angle, it looked like she was snowboarding on the mud.

I didn't have the balance she did, so I took off my bag and went down the slope on my back. While it would get my clothes muddy, it was a small price to pay to get down to the base faster than Rinbayashi.

"In here."

Before landing on her feet, Rinbayashi hopped forward with her tiptoes, and landed gracefully, like a ballet dancer, right in front of the place she was pointing at.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I cast a sidelong glance at the direction she was pointing in. It was another forest, different and far less dense from the one we had just exited.

Unlike most spots on this mountain, because this area was near the base, there were less craggy rock formations protruding from the floor. Instead, it had more flat terrain and open land, like grassy fields sparsely populated by foliage.

As Rinbayashi and I kept walking together, we got deeper and deeper into this barebones forest. It was a little bit creepy, especially since the weather made everything darker than usual, but since she had already been through here, navigating was a breeze for us.

That being said, I was also prepared to experience the worst case scenario. If Rinbayashi came to me of all people, then something truly unexpected must've happened. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered taking the risk of making herself stand out.

After going through a tunnel of trees, Rinbayashi stopped at the mouth of a crowd of trees. Just beyond the edge of where she stood, tucked inside a wall of trees like a hidden secret, laid an empty field.

"We're here."

When I caught up to her, Rinbayashi didn't advance.

Instead, she gestured towards what she brought me here to look at.

Taking off my foggy sunglasses to get a better look, I grit my teeth.

There was a body lying face down in the centre of this desolate field.

"...who did this?"

When I looked back, Rinbayashi had disappeared.

Gone, without a trace.

And without explaining anything about this situation to me either.

I wiped the rain off my sunglasses and put them back on, releasing a callous sigh.

It makes sense why she didn't want to stick around any longer than necessary.

Being seen with me would be troublesome.

It would draw a lot of unnecessary attention towards her, especially now that things have gone this far...

Basically, Rinbayashi was telling me to go and figure this out on my own without using any words.

Whether or not this meant she believed in me to solve this, or if she was omitting information to challenge me, I don't know.

But I was certain about one thing.

I wouldn't let this precious opportunity go to waste.

I took a cautious step into the field and approached the body.

I silently prayed they were alive.

Because if they were dead...

...I'd have to bury them.

I knelt down besides the body and turned it around to see who it was.

My eyes widened briefly, before narrowing.

Her face dishevelled and swollen, covered in pudgy bruises and streaks of congealed blood.

Her long black hair was twisted and splayed out, looking as if it had been pulled taut like rope.

Her shirt was damp and soaked in mud, turning her wet clothes a sickly dark brown.

But most sinisterly...

Hidden beneath her brutal injuries were faint traces of cuts that had been scored across her cheeks and forehead.

The person before me was Oshita Saori.

Even though she had been knocked out, there was no alarm coming from her watch.

...does that mean she's okay?

A grim thought popped into my head.

Maybe the emergency alarm doesn't go off if you're dead.

There would be nothing to monitor, after all.

I knelt down, scooping up Oshita's limp body and feeling for her pulse.

As I touched her wrist, I noticed that her watch had been destroyed.

The screen was smashed and it's internal functions were completely ripped apart.

At least that would explain why her emergency alarm wasn't going off...

More terrifyingly, it meant whoever attacked her wanted to make sure no one would find her.

In other words...

...this was a premeditated murder.

If it wasn't for Rinbayashi finding her and getting in contact with me about it, there was a real chance Oshita could've died today.

My arms wrapped tighter around her body as I picked her up.

I didn't care a lot about Oshita.

But... knowing that she came from the same situation as me, I empathised with her a little.

It's not like she's a bad person or anything.

She's still a person.

To have her life end like this, when it's nowhere near close to finishing...

...I couldn't let that happen.

I won't let her die such a disgraceful death.

I refuse to.

...it was faint, but I could feel a beat.

Oshita was alive, but unconscious.

I stood, carrying her body bridal style.

As I began to move, her face winced.

The corners of her lips rustled and her eyelids fluttered.

Her hands, which hung from the sides of her body, looked like it was trying to grasp at something.

Using her dangling arms, Oshita lifted her shoulders a little.

"Take it easy. You're in no condition to push yourself."

Seeing her stir back to consciousness, I slowed down.

"...w-what?"

A whispery gasp left Oshita's cut lip.

Her swollen eyes, coming in and out of haziness, saw glimpses of my face.

She tried adjusting to her new surroundings, but her foggy mind wouldn't let her.

Realising that she was in no condition to fight, let alone wake up, Oshita closed her eyes.

"Takanori... san... is that...?"

Oshita sighed, whimpering under her breath.

It was strange to see her act so docile...

"Yeah."

"It's you... huh?"

For some reason, Oshita tried laughing derisively. However, instead, a hacking cough came out of her throat.

"Mmm..."

She grit her teeth, holding her chest. It looked like she was in a great deal of pain.

"...I don't know whether to apologise or not."

"Stop being a smart ass... I just thought it was funny you of all people were helping me... that's all."

"I assume that means you're finally awake."

"...more or less, I suppose. I feel like I could slip out of consciousness at any moment, though..."

Oshita tried opening her eyes once more, but to no avail. Her body had become that weak now.

"We'll arrive at the school soon. Please hold on just a little bit longer."

"What...? Hey, you aren't trying to retire me... are you?"

Only being able to listen to my words, Oshita groaned, muttering a weak response.

"What other choice do I have? Someone broke your watch. If I didn't find you, no teacher would've come to save you."

Her eyes opened slightly.

"...I'd rather die than try to explain this mess to them..."

A cold sharpness returned to her raspy voice.

Oshita coughed, nesting her throbbing head on my arm again.

"You don't have to. I have a teacher in mind who can help us out without asking my questions."

"Are you saying they know about <that>...?"

I didn't answer. Oshita took my silence as confirmation.

"Even if they do, how are they going to explain this to the others? No matter how you look at it, someone attacked me with the intent to kill..."

"I know you're sceptical, but please leave everything to me. I'll make sure no one finds out."

"And how are you intending to do that...?"

"You'll see."

"I don't want to see... I want to know."

"I'd rather you just save your breath and rest."

"There's no time to rest, Takanori-san... I have to go back... I have to stop him..."

"Stop who?"

"...Nakajima, obviously."

My walking slowed down.

"How did this happen then? I told you to be on the lookout for that guy three days ago."

"He got me in a blind spot... I was lured out to the field, and he suddenly came swinging at me with a knife."

All sorts of red flags began blaring in my head when she said that.

A knife? In the first place, there should've been no way for Nakajima to have that here. All non-essential items had been confiscated by the teachers, so how did he manage to snuggle a weapon into this special exam?

Did he somehow sneak this past them during the beginning of the bootcamp? Or did he manage to convince one of the teachers to dig this up for him? Or maybe...

...was there someone on the faculty team working for him?

This was getting more and more ominous by the second.

"I don't remember very well, but I barely dodged his first swing... then he launched two kicks at me, landing one of them, and knocking me off balance... and in that split second, he went for my throat."

Oshita tilted her head to the side, showing a fresh cut that horizontally ran along the side of her neck. The scar made it look like Nakajima was trying to behead her or something.

"I managed to evade it, just narrowly... but he kept piling more and more kicks, spins, punches, and slashes on me. It was dizzying trying to keep up with such nimble movements..."

It reminded me of the first time I fought Nakajima. In that fight too, I was struggling to find an opening to counterattack. He was extremely skilled at pressuring the opponent through making the initial move, even if he wasn't that strong himself.

"Eventually, I managed to find an opening to strike back and took it... but just before I could land that punch, Nakajima dropped his knife and went for a low tackle, restraining me on the floor... then, once he was on top of me, started using his fists to beat me into submission..."

Even though I've personally never engaged in a fist fight with him before, I nearly did once last month when I was trying to probe Zyriot's class for information on the Test Shuffle special exam.

I could tell that he was nowhere near as strong as me or Shimada in terms of physical ability, but the skill he displayed for a split second made it clear he could hold his own in a brawl if he wanted to.

You'd never expect it, considering how skinny he is, but his speed and technique would get him a long way. This, coupled with the fact Oshita didn't specialise in pure strength either, is probably why Nakajima got the best of her in this scuffle.

"And as he overwhelmed me with blows... Nakajima reaped my consciousness."

Muttering that line, Oshita squeezed her eyes and turned away from me to hide her strained expression.

"So we don't have any info about his whereabouts either, huh?"

"No... but I do have a good feeling as to what he and Shimada are planning to do in this challenge..."

"I mean, after seeing the state you're in, I think it's pretty obvious now."

Oshita sighed and nodded.

She didn't even have to say what their objective was.

We both intimately understood what was going on here.

Nakajima and Shimada were aiming to kill all three of us.

Me, Oshita, and Rinbayashi.

While everyone else's challenge was to find the hiders, ours was to survive.

This was our very own game of hide-and-seek.

Where we were the hiders, and they were the seekers.

But unlike in a regular game...

...we had the option to strike back.

"...I'll stop them."

If I didn't, then no one else could.

Oshita would be retired and Rinbayashi wanted to remain in the shadows.

This was a job that only I could do.

For a split second, Oshita looked at me with wide eyes, before stifling a laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Sorry... it's nothing."

A thin smile crept on her face.

"I just remembered... something..."

As the last of her power slipped away, Oshita slipped back into unconsciousness.

...I guess I did say something similar to her in the past.

Back when the both of us first met.

We were both slowly drowning from everything we had endured.

The only thing keeping us sane was our hatred, which we both shared.

When I saw that she couldn't shed tears anymore, I told her this.

"I'll stop them!"

...I really was a naive kid back then.

I didn't realise that I was going down the same path as Oshita.

I too, would eventually stop crying.

"Please forget about the me of the past. He's long dead now."

I know she couldn't hear me, but I wanted to get it off my chest.

I can never go back to how I was before.

Doing so... would be spitting on the faces of everyone else who didn't make it out from back then.

I couldn't betray them like that.