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At the neighborhood where Ani and Ane’s apartment is, we exited the train station and found Kaori waiting for me. Turning to Isami, she was looking at me with a big grin, so this must have been arranged from the start. To prevent me from running to a side road and ruining the plan.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m not running away.”
“I guess we gave too many hints, huh.”
“With Kotone, that’s possible.”

Hiiragi was likely unrelated to this. If she was, she wouldn’t have left so suddenly, and Yayoi probably wouldn’t have come to collect her. Being a member of the twelve families, the upperclassmen would have negotiated with her somehow.

“As you may have guessed, my mission was to lead Koto-chan to this place.”
“And from here on out, I’ll be joining as well. I’ve been kept outside since early noon, so I have no idea what’s going on inside the cafe.”
“How thorough of them.”

It’s difficult to make conjunctures with just the information Kaori provided. All I know is that Hadzuki and Aya are working on something together. Including Kishita’s involvement, I really can’t guess their plan anymore. After all, Ani doesn’t know Kishita’s way of doing things.

“Well, since they’re only scheming within the premises of the cafe, it shouldn’t be too bad.”

Taking a peek at Isami’s reaction, she turned her face away from my direction. Kaori showed the same response, too. What do these two even think I am? It’s not like I can read their mind when I see their face.

“Aren’t you overestimating my abilities?”
“I think this much caution is justified when dealing with you, Koto-chan.”
“It’s the same even before, but it’s really hard to anticipate what’s running through your head.”
“What exactly do you think I am?”

This is Ani’s fault, isn’t it? Thanks to him acting as he pleased, Kisaragi Kotone’s reputation permanently changed. Still, I suppose it’s fortunate that it only applies to my close circle of friends.

“It’s been a year since I was left alone on my own, huh. It was a pretty eventful year.”
“I’d say you didn’t really spend too long on your own. We did meet on the first day.”
“And we reunited in summer, too. From what I’m hearing, I’m sure you have a charm that draws people to you.”

Charm, huh. If you ask me, I doubt I have anything like that. Ane was behaved and didn’t think of standing out. On the contrary, the second wanted to stand out in a negative way. So you can say that Ani simply drew eyes due to the gap in behavior.

“It’s more like the situation surrounding me is what garners attention, if you ask me.”
“While you might have just been roped into situations at first, later on you go overboard on your own in my opinion.”
“Isn’t that because she just gave up hiding her true nature after it was exposed to you, Kaori?”
“True, Kotone did start going out of control around that time.”

He didn’t give up after being exposed. He was probably floundering to leave memories after learning that Ane was still alive. If Ane were to remain, Ani will disappear. He was considering that possibility back then

“Ani was just trying to leave a mark.”
“More like a scar, if you ask me. Scars for other people, at that.”
“Koto-chan has always dragged other people around even in the past.”
“That was Ani’s doing, not mine, so it doesn’t count.”
“You’re still the same person, don’t give me that.”

I can’t really refute Kaori’s retort. It’s an excuse I tell myself for the sake of my mental health. I don’t plan on denying the things Ani did. That would be equivalent to denying my own actions.

“I don’t really think you’ve changed though, Kotone.”
“For me, I think you’ve changed just a bit. But it’s more so I can properly draw the line for myself and move on.”

Isami probably wants to distinguish me and Ani as different individuals. Ani has passed on. And Isami has accepted that fact. So in order to not muddle the waters, she perceives me as Kotone.

“Everyone has their own way of thinking, so I’m not going to say anything about it.”
“You’re as dry as always.”
“Kaori, I’m honestly surprised that you believe in what’s been going on up until now.”
“There’s various conditions surrounding personalities and stuff, right? There’re many mysterious things in the world, so rather than doubt it, wouldn’t it be more fun to believe it?”
“Kaori’s been corrupted by Koto-chan, huh. That’s right, with everything, having fun is number one.”

And in the pursuit of having fun, what was born was the gathering of weirdos named rogue’s den. In the future, there will likely be occasions where I would interact with them. Furthermore, there’s also the promise that Ani made. The deadline is still far off, but I’ll have to fulfill that promise.

“Promise, huh. Ani left so much for me to do.”
“What did he leave?”
“You should know. The New Year’s Party is one of them.”
“Everyone’s looking forward to it, you know? They even want to do a Year End Party so it can come sooner.”
“A New Year’s Party with all of those people? Are you insane?”

Kaori knew of the New Year incident thanks to Aya, so her reaction is valid. This is the obvious reaction for a normal person after learning about those weirdos. Even I’d rather keep away from them had I not been acquainted with them.

“Have to keep my promises. No matter how much I’d rather not.”
“You say that, but I know you’re actually looking forward to it.”
“No, I think she does actually mean it.”

I’m definitely going to be shoved around, and there’s no telling what they’d do to me. There’s no way I would willingly want to join that sort of event. Moreover, there are still troublemakers I have yet to meet.

“Now, returning to the current issue, there doesn’t seem to be anything out of place from the outside.”

There wasn’t much distance between the train station and the cafe, so we reached our destination whilst chatting in no time. The cafe exterior looks the same as always. The thing of note is that it has the “Closed” sign up. Even though today should be a business day.

“Whole cafe is reserved. In that case, there should be a considerable number of people inside.”
“Kotone. Just to say, I don’t think it’s normal to make speculations like that in this sort of situation.”
“I know it’s good to always be ready for the worst case scenario, but isn’t it tiring to be constantly vigilant?”
“Hiiragi is the one who’s not normal. She’s even vigilant about situations that would be normally implausible, you know?”
“For Shihocchi… Yeah, thinking about it is useless.”
“Sounds like another unique character.”

Anyhow, enough about Hiiragi. Assuming that there’s a considerable number of people inside, what sort of situation should I expect? Hadzuki, Aya, and Kishita are certain to be present, but the issue is that I have no idea who else is present.

“Next is their objective. It’s sure to be something related to me, but considering how they went completely radio silent with Ani and Ane, it’s really ominous.”
“You’d know if you just went inside.”
“Koto-chan is the type that knocks the bridge before crossing.”
“What about the others?”
“The most unhinged one is the type who’d rather walk on the handrail instead of the bridge.”

Kaori, this should be the part where you scoff in disbelief. This is not where you believe in it and purse your lips into a twitchy smile. Even if it was the truth. Still, what Kaori said is also correct. Rather than worrying about the possibilities, I’d know if I just went inside.

“I guess I’ll just steel myself and assume that it’s a celebration.”
“I don’t think steeling yourself is necessary for just entering the cafe.”

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