Chapter 0045.90

Sakura called out, 'Ishida...!' as she knocked on the door, waiting for a reply. But nobody answered. After a moment, she figured out that the room was empty, so she turned around and headed back outside.

The sky was already getting dark, and Sakura was gearing up for another mission.

Realizing Ishida wasn't in his room, she thought to herself, 'Well, he must have already left for his mission,' as she made her way outside towards the butterfly mansion.

She'd heard about the mission Ishida and Kazuki had been sent on. The news that Kazuki had gotten seriously hurt during it had reached her, so she planned to check in on him.

When Sakura reached the outside of the butterfly mansion, she was welcomed by three charming girls who greeted her together in perfect unison.

"Good Evening, Sakura-San!" they all said with cheerful smiles.

"Good evening!" Sakura replied, smiling back at them.

"Have you finished your mission for today?" one of the girls asked.

"...I'm just heading out for one now," Sakura answered, looking past them. Then, turning her attention back to the girls, she asked, "Kazuki is here, right?" The girls nodded in sync, just like they always did.

"He's resting right now, still recovering. But just a little while ago, he came out to do some training," one of them explained.

"So, can I see him now?" Sakura inquired.

"I think he's sleeping, but if you want..." another girl started.

"He's sleeping...?" Sakura mumbled quietly to herself. Then, raising her head again, she said, "It's okay, I'll see him tomorrow then. Thanks!"

After saying goodbye, he started to leave, but then he heard someone calling her name from behind, and she stopped in her tracks.

"Hold on, Sakura-chan..."

It was Kazuki's voice. He had just woken up, heard Sakura speaking, and came outside to see her.

A little while later, Sakura was sitting by the bedside, and Kazuki was on his bed. They were catching up, having a conversation for the first time in over a week.

"Why weird?" Sakura asked, curious about what Kazuki had been telling her. He was explaining the mission that got him hurt and why he was resting here. He also mentioned Karin, the third person who joined him and Ishida on the mission. While talking about her, he used the word "weird," which made Sakura question him further.

"Well, I'm not sure. There are a lot of reasons, but she came off as really full of herself. Although, I'm not even sure 'arrogant' is the right word,"

"But you mentioned she saved you during the mission, right? Maybe it was just that you were feeling weak, and she called you out on it," Sakura suggested, piecing together what Kazuki had said and what she knew about him.

"Yeah... she's definitely a..." Kazuki started to rant about Karin without really thinking. But then he suddenly caught what Sakura had said and shot her a look. "Weak!? Hey, I saved you once, remember!"

"Yeah, and then what happened... Remember!?" she said, pausing to give Kazuki a sharp look back. "...Ishida had to save you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, whatever..."

They continued chatting for a little while longer. Eventually, Sakura had to get going because she had a mission planned even before she came to visit Kazuki.

"Where's Ishida?!" Kazuki finally asked. He'd been wanting to know from the start, but he held off because Sakura seemed more concerned about his injuries.

"... I think he's off on a mission of his own right now. I haven't seen him, so I'm not totally sure!" she replied as she stood at the door, ready to leave the room.

"Wait, are you going on this mission by yourself!?"

"Yeah. I've handled a few solo missions before. Though, I guess I've been lucky because they've been pretty easy," she added before saying goodbye to Kazuki and heading out.

As Kazuki watched Sakura leave, he turned his gaze to the ceiling and lay back on the bed. It looked like it would take him at least a couple more days to fully recover and be ready for his next mission.

"I'll join you soon..." he thought, closing his eyes.

---

"This seems easy, but... somehow, I doubt it'll be as simple as just walking up to that building, right?" Ishida murmured with a calm, serious look on his face as he began to head towards the building he needed to reach in exactly 9 minutes.

[Time Remaining: 00:08:54:00]

As he made his way down the road, Ishida glanced around and noticed an unsettling sense of unfamiliarity in his surroundings.

The area he's familiar with and the one he's in now are completely different. Everything around him is nothing like what he's used to.

Adding to that, everyone around him looks totally destroyed. Cars, which he'd only ever heard of before, were scattered around. They weren't in one piece, as if they'd been through an actual fire.

[T.S Note: Did you catch the name drop? *Cough* Oops, my bad!]

"Are you going somewhere?"

Suddenly, a voice called out from the side of the road. Ishida turned towards it and was shocked by what he saw.

There stood a little girl, covered in blood, with tears streaming down her face.

"What... But, how!?" Ishida stammered, trying to comprehend the scene before him.

His mind raced back to memories that were still fresh. Just a few days ago, he had wandered through a forest on his way home and heard a little girl crying. He had saved her and her family that day. But now, he wondered, 'Why? Why is she here?'

Ishida's mind was a whirlwind of unanswered questions. How could this be the same girl he had rescued with her family? And why was she now covered in blood?

"You recognize me, don't you?" her voice echoed in his mind. He hadn't heard her speak before. Back then, he thought maybe she didn't know how to talk yet or was too scared by the situation.

But now, nothing made sense to him. She knew Ishida, and he knew her. Was this some kind of hallucination? No it couldn't be , could it !?