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Chapter Text

4/21, Sakurami Middle School

*tac*

My phone opens with a click. The sound of the students chattering around me is anything but dazzling to my ears as I search the apps.

I need to update my diary as soon as I get home. If the students don’t ask me to run any errands, I think I’ll be there shortly.

“Shinonome-san!”

A crowd of students gathers around me. The one who speaks is the girl who sits behind me.

“Yes?” I ask. The girl stares at her shoes for a moment, then says:

“Me and my friends are going to the karaoke… Do you want to join us?”

As I’m about to answer, with the corner of my eye, I catch one particular chair being pushed back. Almost instantly I stand up myself.

“Sorry, I have to go,” I tell them, causing a round of “Aww, too bad” from my little crowd. “I have some things to do at home.”

“Well, see you around then!” The girl says, smiling, and walks off with her friends.

As I grab my things, I see Amano-kun walk out the door, carrying his bag with him. Quickly, I follow, trying to catch up to him without drawing his attention.

By the time I get to the door, though, he notices me. “Shinonome-san,” he says. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing,” I reply, waving a hand dismissively. He smiles and continues walking, phone in hand, every now and then inputting something.

“What are you doing?” I ask him, after a while, as we walk through an empty street.

“Writing on my diary,” he replies. “Look.”

The first thing that I see is the following entry:

4/21 15:43 [Walking home]

Cat fell off a wall.

It is followed by this entry:

4/21 15:45 [Walking home]

The rock is there. Let’s walk to the right of it today.

“Um, Amano-kun… why are you writing that you walked to the right of a rock today?” I ask him.

“Well, it’s something I observed,” he says. “When I’m writing in my diary, what I write is indiscriminate.”

“And that includes a cat falling from a wall and you walking to the right of a rock?”

“Yes, it does.”

I sigh. “I’ll never understand this. My diary only has the key events of the day.”

“Like?”

I open the diary app of my phone, scroll through mindlessly, and show him the screen. In a few seconds, he is confused.

“Shinonome-san, why did you write as a key event for our first day ‘Amano-kun gave me a scissor because he already had one, so he gave me the extra!’, and why is it with a less than three in front of it?” He asks.

“Less than…” It doesn’t take me long to realize what he’s talking about. Immediately I snap the cover closed and rear back like I’m being attacked.

“W-well, about the scissor, it’s because I was really needing one, you know,” I stammer. “You do remember yesterday, when we had to cut some really hard cardboard.”

“Do we have cardboard at school?”

“Did you miss class yesterday?”

“No.”

“Then you should remember that we had to cut cardboard.”

“You mean the huge cardboard you were carrying around and time after time cutting the edges with that scissor?”

“The cardboard WHAT?”

By now we’ve arrived at his house. He stops and then turns to look at me.

“Bye, Shinonome-san,” he says, before staring at his shoes and adding, “Be careful on your way home. There’s a serial killer on the loose, like Hiyama-sensei said.”

“I know,” I reply, trying not to lose my composure again. “Bye, Amano-kun!”

As he disappears into his house, I run home, since it’s getting late, and like he said, there’s a serial killer on the loose.

4/21, Shinonome Tsubasa’s Residence

“I’m home,” I call. No one answers. I take off my shoes and run upstairs to my room.

Sometimes, it’s lonely to live like I do. But in most days, I feel relieved.

I check my phone for the time. 16:00. Almost time for my daily diary update.

But…

Right now, there’s a new episode of Ouran High School Host Club that aired a few days ago and I want to watch it today.

I plop onto the couch and turn on the TV, clicking a few times to find the… illegal streaming platform… I’m looking for. In two minutes, I’ve got it on, and when the opening song begins to play for Episode 3, I finally allow myself to relax.

Whew. This has been a long day.

***

The moment I finish the episode someone knocks on the door. I turn off the TV, jump off the couch, and race to the door.

To my surprise, it’s Gasai-san from my class.

“Shinonome-san,” she says. “You forgot this at school.”

She shows me the pair of black scissors I got from Amano-kun.

“Oh, I was looking for them!” I exclaim, hurriedly pulling them from her hands. “Thanks!”

“You’re welcome,” she says, and I notice a strain in her voice when she says that last sentence… before slamming the door on my face.

Ow.

I stare for a moment at the scissors. They’re unusually big for school scissors—I measured the blades as 20 cm long—and they’re jet-black from tip to handle. I wonder where Amano-kun got them, since they look like they came straight out of a serial killer plot.

But, well, scissors are scissors, and whatever Amano-kun gives me is sacred.

“Okay, now it’s time to update my diary,” I whisper to myself. “What are the key events of today?”

I run upstairs and throw myself on the bed, hearing a soft thud as something falls. As I look to where it’s come from, I see a small object on the floor.

A brown button.

What is this?

It wasn’t here before.

I pick it up from the floor and look at it closely. It looks like a jacket button, from a non-expensive brand.

But it doesn’t belong to any of my jackets. All of my buttoned jackets have black buttons.

This is odd.

But anyways, I need to update my diary.

I open the phone with a click and scramble for the diary app.

4/21

Today’s key events:

1. Went to school.
2. Saw Kousaka trash-talking Amano-kun with his friends during break and recorded it. He might be rich, but that’s no reason to bully people. (凸ಠ益ಠ)凸
3. Hiyama-sensei warned the class about a serial killer on the loose. Hopefully the police will catch this person on time. It’s scaring people.
4. Walked home with Amano-kun. Apparently he has a diary too. He doesn’t seem to write about himself, though. That’s a shame. He’s still adorable though (*°∀°)=3
5. Amano-kun read the entry about the scissors by accident! Thankfully he doesn’t know how to read emoticons. But it was so embarrassing regardless!
6. Watched Episode 3 of Ouran High School Host Club. I hope my OTP sails.
7. Gasai-san found my scissors at school. Apparently I’d forgotten them in the classroom. That’s the honor student for you!

I stop typing and stare at my phone with a smile. 

Yes, very good. That way I can think about things better.

And the moment I look around…

There’s a little girl with dark skin and purple hair who is dressing in something that looks like the breed of a nurse uniform and a dominatrix outfit.

And she has a… demon tail?

“Hi,” she says, in a squeaky voice.

“AAAH!” I nearly jump out of my skin. “Who are you?!”

“I’m Muru Muru,” she says, grinning. “You’re Shinonome Tsubasa, aren’t you?”

“How do you know my name?!” I exclaim.

“I’ve got my reasons,” she—Muru Muru—replies cryptically. “And I’ve come here to say that you’ve been picked as one of the 13 Diary Holders. Originally there were supposed to be 12, but Deus said we needed backup…”

I cut her monologue. “Diary Holders? Deus? What are you talking about?”

“When I say Deus, I mean Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space. Basically, he’s dying and needs a successor ASAP. The Diary Holders are the candidates to be his successor, who possess Future Diaries.”

“And what are these Future Diaries?”

“Well, besides the obvious part that they are diaries who tell the future… each of them has special skills and weaknesses. Here’s yours.” She waves her hand and my phone buzzes like mad for a few seconds before going back to normal. “Your Diary is the Summary Diary. It predicts the most important events of the day, considering your personal biases.”

“My… personal biases?”

“Yes. For example, events related to someone special, terribly important or not, will appear because you treat those as key events regardless.”

“And how do you know that I do that, saying I do that?”

“Deus is the God of Time and Space. He, and I, see everything. I know half of your diary entries include heart emoticons towards a certain boy, for instance.”

“Wha— That’s not true!” I’m aware I’m blushing, which makes Muru Muru’s smirk even more angering. “I don’t— What makes you say something like this?!”

“It’s okay,” she says. “I’m not going to tell Yukiteru about it.”

“You know him?! And how close are you two for you to be on a first-name basis?!”

“Hey, hey, calm down, I’m not going to get in your way,” she says, waving her hands desperately. “I gotta go anyways. Bye!”

And she vanishes, leaving me half embarrassed, half angry, and entirely confused.

4/22, Shinonome Tsubasa’s Residence

I wake up with my phone alarm screaming way too higher than it should. After checking the time, I hurry to get myself changed.

As I get into my white spider lily-patterned set, I think about the events of last afternoon.

Was it all a dream? Muru Muru, and all of that Future Diary talk?

Hopefully. I don’t want anyone discovering I like Amano-kun, much less that type of person. She seems like the kind that would blabber your darkest secrets in exchange for 50 yen.

I close the clasp on my earrings a bit harder than I should and tie my bracelet with a half-minded attention.

Yet another uneventful day…

Thinking this, I check my phone’s diary app.

What I see is… shocking, to say the least.

4/22

Today’s key events:

1. Went to school. Amano-kun was staring at his phone like it was going to explode.
2. Surprise math test. The correct answers are ——————————————————————.
3. Amano-kun got everything right on the test! I wonder how he did that. Maybe he is actually very studious like all those shy anime characters? Awwww, if he wasn’t already cute enough! uwu (*°∀°)=3
4. Went back home. Didn’t see Amano-kun on the way.
5. Ditz Cop called home to ask about the serial killer. I said, “Nothing, as usual.”
6. Orin-chan called. She said that she could borrow me the next volume of Sand Chronicles tomorrow. I can’t wait to read it!

What?

What is this?

Did… Did I write this while asleep?

An entry for today.

With stuff that didn’t happen yet.

A diary of the future.

“You’ve been picked as one of the 13 Diary Holders.”

Muru Muru’s voice comes back to me. And it brings a shocking realization.

This… this is real.

My phone… turned into a Future Diary.

Chapter Text

4/28, Sakurami Middle School

“Um, Hiyama-sensei!”

Kousaka shouts. I resist the urge to throw something at him as our teacher doesn’t move.

“No offense or nothing, but number 3 is bunk! We never covered this stuff! ” He says, way too loud.

Hiyama-sensei finally turns to look at him. “Is that a fact? I could have sworn we covered it last week.”

With the corner of my eye I spot Amano-kun. He’s… looking on his phone? While doing the test? No, he can’t possibly be cheating. That’s out of character.

And then I see it.

From her seat on the front, Gasai-san turns and looks at Amano-kun. It lasts for only a couple seconds, but somehow I feel like it carries more meaning than anything else.

What was that?

Something… something’s going on here.

Wait… I remember something. Gasai-san… I’ve been seeing her in odd places these days.

They were always close to Amano-kun.

Is she…?

And then it ends. She turns back to her desk, drops her pencil, and starts doing something with her hands.

Clay modeling?

Hiyama-sensei walks up to her. “Excuse me, Gasai, but we’re in the middle of a test.”

“I’m just keeping my brain occupied. I can do two things at once,” she replies without missing a beat.

Hiyama-sensei sighs. “Well, try not to distract your classmates,” he says, and walks down the rows of desks.

I write down another answer as fast as possible, then drop the mechanical pencil on the table to see what she’s doing.

Wait, that’s…

***

Class is over and everybody’s leaving. As I walk out of the classroom, I finally get to see what Gasai-san modeled with the clay I can’t fathom where she got.

It’s a sculpture of Muru Muru.

I must be dreaming…

But it’s real. For some reason, Gasai-san knows what Muru Muru looks like, and so, probably knows her. Which means…

She must be one of the other twelve Diary Holders.

For some reason this prompts me to look at my phone. What I see is, well…

4/28

Today’s key events:

1. Went to school.
2. Test. Gasai-san gave Amano-kun a weird look.
3. Found a Muru Muru clay doll on Gasai-san’s table.
4. Saw Amano-kun running to the abandoned building. I decided to follow him.
5. I climbed the elevator to the 14th floor.
6. The Thirteenth, Shinonome Tsubasa, and the First, Amano Yukiteru, are killed by the Third. 

                                                                                           --  DEAD END  --

It’s like time itself has frozen. I don’t even know what could a “Dead End” possibly be, the only thing that keeps screaming to view is Amano-kun’s name and the verb “killed” in the same phrase. And my name, too. The diary says that both of us will be killed by the “Third”, whoever that is. The third Diary Holder, perhaps?

Wait. So, following that logic, where I’m called “the Thirteenth” because I’m the 13th Diary Holder and the Third is called the Third because he or she is the 3rd Diary Holder… does that mean Amano-kun is also a Diary Holder?

That would explain how Muru Muru seems to know him. And the phone during class… could it be that he was using his Future Diary to cheat in class? That’s… actually a very stupid idea. If the Third is in the abandoned building—the most logical conclusion—then that could mean that he or she is waiting for Amano-kun and me there. That means that he or she has seen Amano-kun’s Future Diary.

Not that he has done any effort to hide it. Anyone walking behind him would see the phone and the entries…

Suddenly something horrible comes to mind. The only person who went behind Amano-kun today was Hiyama-sensei. That means he is the only one who could have seen Amano-kun’s diary and realized he was one of the Diary Holders.

Which means Hiyama-sensei is the Third.

And like all other teachers, he has already left the school, so…

I have to run!

Or else, I might not be able to save Amano-kun!

Praying that my legs can carry me there on time, I speed out of the classroom.

***

By the time I get to the abandoned building, I see a figure standing next to it. Judging by their build, most likely a man in his mid-thirties. He’s dressing in a hat, gas mask with goggles, and bullet-, maybe even bomb-proof jacket. In his right hand he holds a large machete-like knife.

Something tells me it’s the Third. So I run as fast as I can into the nearest hiding spot.

And that’s when I hear it. Static.

It buzzes so loud, out of my phone and the Third’s. He pulls it out and checks it. A few seconds later, he enters the building, passing right next to me, and gets into the elevator.

Phew. He didn’t hear my phone.

I check it. Something’s different. Now, the entry reads:

4/28

Key events of the day:

1. Went to school.
2. Test. Gasai-san gave Amano-kun a weird look.
3. Found a Muru Muru clay doll on Gasai-san’s table.
4. Saw the Third next to the abandoned building.
5. The Third entered the elevator and went to the roof (17th floor).
6. I called back the elevator and went to the 17th floor.
7. Saw the Third turning into a black hole and vanishing right after Amano-kun throws a dart that pierces the Third’s diary.
8. Gasai-san has a Future Diary! Apparently, it’s called the Yukiteru Diary and it predicts/records his condition and actions every 10 minutes.
9. Gasai Yuno, the Second, stabbed me to death with a knife.

                                                                                               -- DEAD END --

Excuse me, Gasai-san what?

Did I just read that THE Gasai Yuno, honor student, popular as heck, every girl’s dream incarnate, will stab me to death with a knife?

I blink, just to check if I’m misreading it. Nope. The diary is clearly telling me I’ll get stabbed to death by Gasai Yuno, and not only that, it’s saying that she is also a Diary Holder—the Second no less—and what is her diary’s power.

…Wait, did I just read… Yukiteru Diary?

Did I just read that her diary… predicts and records Amano-kun’s condition and actions EVERY TEN MINUTES?

I blink again. Unfortunately, I’m not misreading. That’s a massive red flag thrown on my face with a few lines. Holy walls…

That’s when I remember my scissors. They’re just the right length to compete with a knife. If Gasai-san tries to kill me, I have a weapon to strike back with.

Carefully, I open my school bag and dump the contents on the ground, as I don’t have much time. The scissors are visible immediately, their black blades glistening in the flickering daylight.

I have to hurry.

Hesitating for a moment, I press the elevator button.

***

When I get to the 17th floor, I witness something unexplainable.

As the guy in the coat—Third—pulls out his phone, probably to check his diary, it happens. In a second, Gasai-san runs out from someplace she must’ve been hiding in, runs around Third to distract him, and from a balcony floor up high, Amano-kun throws a dart that skewers Third’s phone through the screen.

Third staggers back, horrified. Then, he starts literally wobbling, and his particles start retracting into the center. He turns into a black hole and vanishes, all within the space of a few seconds.

And this gives me new information. One: Gasai-san and Amano-kun are working together. Two: Third just died. Three: if your diary gets destroyed, you die.

I quickly jump into hiding, recalling the “Dead End” thing. My thoughts are running wild, and I barely register Amano-kun and Gasai-san talking as I try to process what has just happened.

If your diary gets destroyed, you die.

If your diary gets destroyed, you die.

If your diary gets destroyed, you die.

My breathing is shaky and so are my hands, one of them holding the phone that has now become one with me. If it dies, I die.

When at last Gasai-san’s long pink pigtails disappear into the elevator, I hear my phone buzz loudly again.

I check it.

4/28

Key events of the day:

1. Went to school.
2. Test. Gasai-san gave Amano-kun a weird look.
3. Found a Muru Muru clay doll on Gasai-san’s table.
4. Saw the Third next to the abandoned building.
5. The Third entered the elevator and went to the roof (17th floor).
6. I called back the elevator and went to the 17th floor.
7. Saw the Third turning into a black hole and vanishing right after Amano-kun throws a dart that pierces the Third’s diary.
8. Ran home.
9. Was called to the Cathedral of Causality by Deus Ex Machina along with 12 other people whose faces I didn’t see (probably a means to cover up their identities).
10. Deus Ex Machina said that this is a Survival Game whose participants AKA the Diary Holders have to fight each other in a battle royale for his throne.
11. Candidates assumed Amano-kun/First is the most dangerous since he killed the Third/Hiyama-sensei/serial killer and said they would focus on him. I gotta do something to protect him, because he’s not dangerous at all, he’s a sweet defenseless baby!
12. Called Orin-chan and told her to be careful, since the Eighth’s silhouette looks like Kamado-san from the orphanage (I didn’t say about the Diary Game, though, for the same reason!). She said she would and then asked if I was busy about the manga. I said that we should postpone (since the Diary Game will last 90 days according to Deus Ex Machina).
13. Stuck a post-it on the wall to remember to tell Amano-kun that I’m a Diary Holder and I’m on his side.
14. Went to sleep. 

Eighth looks like Kamado-san?

For the love of newspapers, how many people I know are trying to become God of Space and Time?

That entry about Gasai-san’s diary disappeared. Thank the heavens I screen-printed it.

I finally relax…

…and black out with one final buzz of my phone.

Chapter Text

4/29, Sakurami Police Office

My head hurts. A lot. I don’t know what’s going on, except that the room I’m in looks like the police office. And there’s this scary-looking guy with… strange hair.

Who is this guy?

“Awake already?” He asks. “God, nobody asked for you to black out right when the reunion was happening, Thirteenth. By Deus’s face, he looked ready to scream you awake.”

I blink. “And you are…?”

“Kurusu Keigo. Chief Inspector of Sakurami City’s police force. Also known as Fourth,” he replies. “You have to be more careful, Thirteenth. If I’d wanted, I could have killed you then and there, when I found you on that building.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“Because I want to be your ally. I’ve seen what your diary can do, and besides, I could use some help here.”

“Do you know… about Third?”

“Yes. First killed him straight on. But he or she looked like a kid your age, though. Didn’t see that one coming.” He sighs. “You’re Shinonome Tsubasa, 14, second-year at Sakurami Middle School, right?”

“Yes.” He may be the Fourth, but he’s still a police officer. I can’t lie here.

“Well, Thirteenth, I have a deal for you.” He crosses his arms as he speaks. “You help me find the First, since you were there when the Third was killed. I found a destroyed diary there, with a dart through the screen which is reported to belong to the First. In exchange, I don’t put a bullet through your brain now and later I can help you deal with the other candidates.”

“The First didn’t do it by himself,” I blurt, suddenly. “Second helped him.”

He raises his eyebrows. “How can you be so sure the First is a he? Do you know them?”

I resist the urge to cover my mouth with my hands while mentally cursing myself.

“Do you know the First?” Fourth presses. “Tell me, Thirteenth. You’ve got nowhere to run. This is a locked room, and if I shoot you, nobody will hear. Do you know the First?”

I inhale sharply. “Yes, I do,” I finally choke out.

“From where?”

“He’s my classmate,” I say. “And don’t blame it on him. My reporter’s instinct tells me Second planned all of it. First merely pulled the trigger.”

“Reporter’s instinct?”

“When I grow up, I want to be an investigative journalist,” I tell him. “And I saw Third die. I can help you figure out who the others are… on one condition.”

“And that is?”

“If you find First, don’t kill him. He wouldn’t hurt a fly even if it pointed a .50 at his face.”

“Oh really? Then he’s easy prey for everyone else.”

“That’s exactly why I’m telling you this. If me and you ally with First, then we might have a chance at finding the others. If First’s diary is how I think it is, then it’s one of the best shots at winning. We could use that to our advantage.”

Fourth laughs. “Well, you sure are bright aren’t you? So, you accept my terms.”

“And you accept my conditions.”

“Of course.”

“Then it’s a deal.”

I shake Fourth’s hand, then stand up.

“I have to go home, or else I’ll be late for school. What time is it anyway?”

“4:00 in the morning. Watch out for…”

“The serial killer is dead, Fourth,” I interrupt. “Third was the serial killer.”

“I know,” he says. “I meant the other Diary Holders. Who knows if one of them ambushes you in the street.”

“If they’re even awake at this time,” I sigh. “Bye.”

***

5/02, Sakurami Middle School

No one else in the classroom, except Amano-kun and me. It’s supposed to be P.E. class right now, except that I’ve waited a while for Gasai-san to leave so I can update my Diary Holder list.

So far, it goes like this:

First: Amano Yukiteru (diary unknown)

Second: Gasai Yuno (Yukiteru Diary, predicts and records Amano-kun’s condition and actions with 10-minute intervals)

Third: Hiyama Takao (diary unknown)

Fourth: Kurusu Keigo (diary unknown)

Fifth: ????

Sixth: ????

Seventh: ????

Eighth: Ueshita Kamado(?) (diary unknown)

Ninth: ????

Tenth: ????

Eleventh: ????

Twelfth: ????

Thirteenth: Shinonome Tsubasa (me) (Summary Diary, predicts all key events of the day considering my biases with Amano-kun and Orin-chan)

So far, the only diaries whose capacities I know are mine and Gasai-san’s. I’ve crossed out Hiyama-sensei/Third because he’s already out of the picture.

And Kurusu-san… I didn’t ask him what his diary does, even though we’re allies now. What a dumb decision.

Suddenly I hear a creak on the door. A young woman wearing a cute anime-girl dress with her purple hair tied up in two large pigtails appears.

“Sorry, can you two maybe help me?” She asks. “I’m trying to find the faculty lounge, any idea if I’m getting warmer? I figured somebody there should have some answers about Hiyama-sensei.”

“Ah…” Amano-kun says, looking surprised by the woman’s sudden appearance. As he doesn’t say anything else, and neither I do, she continues:

“The guy’s your homeroom teacher, right?”

“Yes,” I say. “Why?”

“Did you know he also happened to be a killer?” The woman asks.

Amano-kun is shocked. Well, I’m not, because I know who Third was. But this lady… how does she know that?

“Where it is, your grades are up and if a gal asks around, seems most of your classmates think you’ve been acting kind of uppity the past few days. Don’t you think Hiyama-sensei’s absence is a little on the suspicious side?” The woman continues, now walking into the classroom and towards Amano-kun. “I mean, after all,” and she’s practically a foot in front of him now, “the killer died yesterday.”

Amano-kun looks like he’s seen a ghost. If this woman is dangerous—which I’m suspecting she is—then he’s already offering his neck to the gutter.

“His Murder Diary didn’t help much at the moment of truth,” the woman adds, which only makes Amano-kun more terrified. “He was in the process of hunting First when he got upstaged.”

So Hiyama-sensei really was Third. And he really did know Amano-kun had a diary and was the First.

I resist the impulse to check my phone because this woman might try to check me, and if she’s a Diary Holder too, then this might end with a kill count.

“In case you’re not following me, the guy shaping your mind was Third,” she finishes.

Amano-kun staggers back, knocking desk and chair with him. He looks horrified.

And I am too. Because if this woman is a Diary Holder, she’s this close to tearing off his last defensive line.

She walks up to him and grabs his wrist, pulling his hand up to look at his phone/diary.

“Sweet phone you got,” she says. Amano-kun immediately rears back, pulling himself away from her grasp. She smiles. “I was dead on.”

He—and I—look at her.

“You’re First, aren’t you?” Her calm smile turns into a crazed smirk. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Our phones buzz. Reflexively, I pull mine out of my pocket—and realize what I’ve just done.

“Another one, eh?” She laughs. “Didn’t see you at Deus’ reunion. You must be Thirteenth, right?”

Amano-kun stares at the screen of his phone, dead-pale. “Dead End,” he gasps.

“NO!”

A scream cuts through at the same time that, all of a sudden, Gasai-san appears through the door and attempts to hit the woman with a fire extinguisher. She calmly dodges the attack and then stands in the window.

“Too late,” she says, smirking. “The name’s Uryuu Minene, kiddos, alias Ninth. And if Third was the appetizer, I’m the main course!

“Au revoir!” She exclaims, before jumping backwards into the air.

For a second, everything seems frozen in time. I only have time to jump with Amano-kun and Gasai-san out the door before everything explodes.

When I wake up, my ears are buzzing. I feel a numb sensation through my leg and see a shard of someone’s chair lodged on my ankle. I promptly yank it off, producing a small spurt of blood and a fresh wave of pain, but right now what matters is my classmates who were here just this instant.

I turn my head and see Gasai-san protectively embracing Amano-kun against the wall. They seem uninjured, what is a relief. In front of us, the classroom burns.

That woman… who just detonated a bomb in the school.

She’s the woman on the news…

…Uryuu Minene, the escaped terrorist.

Not only that, she’s a Diary Holder, the Ninth.

First a serial killer, then a terrorist?

What in the ever-loving hell was Deus thinking?!

“Thirteenth…”

The voice belongs to Gasai-san. It slowly rises in anger as she turns to look at me, without letting go of Amano-kun.

“You’re a Diary Holder!” She screeches at me. “And you… you let that woman explode a bomb that could have killed Yukkii. I’ll… I’ll never forgive you!”

Yukkii?

How close are they again?

“Gasai-san—” 

Something flies right next to my head. A shard of concrete.

“You keep saying that you’re his friend, but you let him get hurt!” She’s hysterical now. “And anyone who hurts Yukkii is my enemy!” She picks up another shard of concrete.

It is then that Amano-kun moves, grabbing her wrist to prevent her from throwing. “No, Yuno!” He gasps. “She’s on our side!”

“She has a diary, Yukkii,” Gasai-san says, immediately shifting to a sweet, honeyed voice. “She might be with that woman. We should kill her.”

Kill me?!

What is this girl talking about?!

“But—” Amano-kun begins

“Yukkii, please,” Gasai-san says, smiling sweetly. “Let me take care of her. Just stay here, Yukkii, and I promise nobody else will hurt you.”

He seems to resign, finally. “Okay,” he says. “I’m counting on you, Yuno.”

She smiles and stands up. My phone buzzes, probably with a “Gasai Yuno stabs me” Dead End. But not this time.

This time, I’m armed.

I pull out my scissors from inside my shirt just as she begins to charge, holding what looks like a makeshift knife made of glass and iron.

Okay, Tsubasa.

Time to see if those self-defense classes paid off.

She swings the blade at my neck as I thrust my arm up, blocking it with the scissors.

“You…” She’s mad. Literally.

“Gasai-san, stop! I'm not going to hurt you two! I’m on your side!” I shout, but she doesn’t seem to listen. Amano-kun, on the corner, looks like a baby bird who has just realized he’s in the fox’s jaws.

And I’m locked in a fight with the “honor student” who isn’t acting at all like an honor student.

“Gasai-san!” She doesn’t budge, slashing and thrusting nonstop as I struggle to block her strikes. A wild swing barely misses my neck and a broken shard of glass leaves a cut on my cheek.

This is bonkers. A week ago, I was just a normal girl, dreaming of working to solve crimes, writing on my diary, and pining over a cute classmate. But now, not only said diary can predict the future, but I’m in a glass knife-scissor fight with the school honor student Gasai Yuno who ALSO has a Future Diary and is going nuts thinking that I will hurt her apparent crush and MY crush as well, one Amano Yukiteru who ALSO has a diary.

What the heck.

“Yuno, STOP!” Amano-kun shrieks. She immediately brakes and stares at him.

“What, Yukkii?” She asks.

“We shouldn’t be fighting each other like this! Shinonome-san is on our side!” He exclaims. “Even if you don’t trust her, she hasn’t made a move to hurt any of us!”

“Yukkii…”

Finally she lowers her knife. “Go,” she says. “Run before I change my mind.”

Swallowing my worry about Amano-kun, throwing one last glance at him and Gasai-san, I run through the ruins.

***

Three explosions and maybe a sprained ankle later, I manage to find a safe zone, reaching the ground level where Ninth is. She’s standing in the middle of the yard, with a tiny tablet, some sort of switch, and a megaphone, which she’s using to talk to the students trapped in the classrooms.

“We’re talking demolitions grade explosives decked out with motion sensors,” she says. “Unless you wanna blow up, stay where you are.”

Seeing the students’ despaired faces, she smiles crazily. “That’s right, boys and girls. The whole student body is now my hostage!”

If I didn’t already have Crazy Girl 1 trying to stab me right after the school blows up, Crazy Girl 2 has installed MOTION SENSOR BOMBS everywhere in the school. Yes, today is totally not my day.

I check my phone.

5/02

Key events of the day:

1. Went to school.
2. Uryuu Minene, AKA Ninth, exposed Amano-kun as the First and me as the Thirteenth.
3. Gasai-san nearly killed me with a knife made of glass. Thankfully I had my scissors!
4. Ninth took everyone hostage. She said she would bargain for Amano-kun in exchange for everyone’s freedom.
5. Kousaka and some other students brought Amano-kun to the yard where Ninth was. There’s a minefield there, I’m sure.
6. Ninth took Amano-kun’s diary.
7. Gasai-san started running around and activating all the motion sensor bombs. I don’t want to think about how many students have been… affected.
8. Fourth appeared and revealed to Amano-kun and Ninth about his diary. It’s called the Investigation Diary and it can predict the location of any criminal within Sakurami. As expected of the Chief Inspector.
9. Ninth said she would detonate all other bombs if Fourth didn’t kill Amano-kun and then himself.
10. Fourth… aimed a gun at Amano-kun’s head.
11. Gasai-san jumped out of a window and whacked Ninth with something.
12. Amano-kun and Fourth were blown up by a mine in the minefield. No!
13. Ninth detonated the bombs and I died.

                                                                                    -- DEAD END --

Amano-kun will… die?

No. I can change the future. This isn’t going to happen.

Not on my watch.

But as I look up, I see Kousaka and some others dragging Amano-kun to where Ninth is.

I need to do something.

‘BOOM!’

The sound reverberates all over. Probably Gasai-san triggering the motion sensors. 

Fourth appears. I need to get back Amano-kun and stop Ninth, or something really bad is going to happen.

Gasai-san jumps out the window and whacks Ninth.

Amano-kun gets up and starts to run.

I close my eyes, waiting for the explosion.

But… nothing happens.

“Yukkii, left!” I hear Gasai-san shout. And that’s when I realize what I haven’t accounted for.

Gasai-san’s diary will know better than anyone what happens to Amano-kun.

So she knows where the mines are.

“There to the right!” She shouts. I can hear Ninth mumbling something, probably “I don’t like where this is going”, until I hear her shout:

“The little tramp is a Diary Holder!”

That must be Gasai-san, who’s all ragged up from the running and probably climbing she’s done—not to mention her nullifying fall damage.

Fourth starts shooting at her as she tries to move.

“Left. Left after that— Ah!” Gasai-san screams as Ninth kicks her. Some clicks close to me tell that Fourth is out of bullets.

But just when Ninth is about to detonate the bombs…

A book hits her on the head. Then a pencil, a fiddle case, and a bunch of other things as the trapped students start to react. She blows up a mine too late, and Amano-kun grabs a dart, aiming for her diary.

Just by the timing I can tell what will actually happen. Instead of hitting Ninth’s diary, which is now out of the way, the dart’s tip keeps going… and we bid farewell to 50% of Ninth’s vision.

“AAAAH!” She screeches, staggering back, holding her face, and Gasai-san uses this as an opportunity to pull the tablet and switch from her. Blood streams down from her eye socket. I reflexively cover my face.

Fourth sees me. “Thirteenth!” He exclaims, but just as he does so, Ninth… releases a swarm of rockets from under her skirt, which soon turn out to actually be smoke bombs, and she escapes on a motorcycle that appears out of plain nowhere.

“My diary’s got a name too. The Escape Diary!” She shrieks, speeding off and disappearing.

***

5/02, Sakurami Police Office

Fourth takes me, Gasai-san, and Amano-kun to the police office while the other guys deal with the mess Ninth left behind.

“First we have a serial killer going around, and now a terrorist… we really have rotten luck,” Amano-kun whispers almost inaudibly.

“Yeah. By the way, Amano-kun,” I hesitate for a moment, “what is the name of your diary?”

He blinks. “Um… Random Diary, I think. It records what happens around me every couple minutes. Nothing about me, though.”

“Like that day you showed me?”

He nods. “And yours, Shinonome-san?”

“The… Summary Diary. It shows the key events of the entire day, summarized into a single entry. That’s its main weakness. Only one entry for the entire day.”

“I see.”

I discreetly try to update my list, but Fourth sees it.

“You’re making a list of Diary Holders?” He asks. “Can I see it?”

I nod, and show him the most recent version with updates.

First: Amano Yukiteru (Random Diary, records everything around user every couple minutes)

Second: Gasai Yuno (Yukiteru Diary, records Amano-kun’s condition and actions within 10-minute intervals)

Third: Hiyama Takao (Murder Diary, capabilities unknown)

Fourth: Kurusu Keigo (Investigation Diary, predicts information about future crimes and activities committed anywhere in Sakurami)

Fifth: ????

Sixth: ????

Seventh: ????

Eighth: Ueshita Kamado(?) (diary unknown)

Ninth: Uryuu Minene (Escape Diary, capabilities unknown)

Tenth: ????

Eleventh: ????

Twelfth: ????

Thirteenth: Shinonome Tsubasa (me) (Summary Diary, predicts all key events of the day considering my biases with Amano-kun and Orin-chan)

“That much information already? Good job, Thirteenth,” Fourth says. “We still have left to identify six Diary Holders and confirm one.” Then he blinks. “What do you mean with your… biases?”

Discreetly I press a finger over my lips, begging silence. He seems to understand, and falls silent for a moment before continuing:

“Anyhow, First, Second, there are some things I want to discuss with you two and Thirteenth. I made an alliance with her under the conditions that neither of you were to be harmed if she helped me find you two, and I would like to ask you to join this alliance and find the other Diary Holders.”

“What would make me trust you, Fourth?” Gasai-san asks, her voice as cold as a cube of ice.

“Simple,” I say, smiling. “I know who you are and what your diary is. Fourth could send the police after you just as easy as you could breathe.”

Amano-kun slowly raises a hand. “I would like to join in,” he says. “Though all of this is confusing, Kurusu-san helped me and Yuno survive Ninth, so I owe you two a lot.”

“Yukkii…” After a moment Gasai-san raises her hand as well. “If Yukkii’s going, I will, too.”

I notice she’s looking at her diary and blushing. Why is that?

Fourth smiles. “Well then. The Future Diary Alliance will get going now. Yes, I know it’s corny,” he adds, seeing my angry expression, “but that’s the best a thirty- or forty-something-year-old guy can think up in these circumstances.”

After the two leave, Fourth speaks up:

“Thirteenth, you know that this kind of thing won’t have room in our situation.”

I sigh and stare at my shoes. “I know, Fourth,” I say. “But I can’t just pretend I don’t feel this way, no matter how many terrorists, serial killers or who else Deus brought to this stupid Diary thing sneak in. I can’t just…” I trail off. He sighs.

“Can’t say I know how you feel… but it must be tough.”

***

When I wake up, I’m in a place I don’t know. Multiple silhouettes stand in a place that looks like an arena without the arena, just the row of launching pads. In a throne sits a large figure. A brown creature—I recognize Muru Muru—floats on top of a large sphere.

“Welcome to the Cathedral of Causality, Thirteenth,” the large figure says. “I am Deus Ex Machina, God of Space and Time. You were half-collapsed during the last meeting, so I need to introduce myself now.”

“I’m sorry about that, Deus,” I say. Then I glance around. I notice one ‘launching pad’ doesn’t have a silhouette, instead a large ‘DEAD END’ sign written in red can be visible. Below it, the Roman numeral III.

The Third.

The others are all filled, from numbers I to XII. Mine looks out of place, like it was pasted there in a hurry. I predict that underneath it is the number XIII.

“Shouldn’t Thirteenth have been disqualified for not being here in the first reunion, Deus?” The tall silhouette over pad number XI asks with a man’s voice that seems vaguely familiar. “That’s a rule, as far as I remember.”

“Thirteenth’s case will be studied, but no, there will be no expelled candidates yet,” Deus replies. “They are special backup for this Survival Game.”

“Oh, Deus,” I begin, “what is the Survival Game? I wasn’t here in the first reunion, so…”

Muru Muru resolves the problem. “To put it simply, Deus is dying and he needs a successor to his throne ASAP. So he’s organizing a battle royale to decide who will be the new God of Space and Time. The last man or woman standing wins.”

So that’s why Third tried to kill Amano-kun and Gasai-san. That’s also why Ninth tried to kill both them, me, and Fourth.

This is a death game to decide who will become God.

Chapter Text

5/05, Some Highway in Sakurami City

“So, why are we heading to a cult again?” I ask Fourth as he drives on. I’m squashed in the backseat with Gasai-san, since Amano-kun is in the passenger seat. “This doesn’t sound very nice. Pretty fishy, if you ask me.”

“We’re going because apparently, Ninth was captured by the Omekata cult, Thirteenth,” Fourth replies. “Our job today is to ask them to surrender her to us.”

I hesitate. “What if they have another Diary Holder there? Then we’re toast, that’s what we are.”

“I assure you we will be fine,” Fourth says. “They won’t touch a hair in our bodies as long as they know I’m with the police. And the chances are so slim that I wouldn’t find them in a hay pile.”

Amano-kun turns in his seat to look at me. “We’ll be okay, Shinonome-san,” he says, smiling kindly. “If Kurusu-san says it’s okay, then I trust him.”

My guts turn into mush, but I’m still worried—and it only gets worse, in fact, as I remember what I have sworn to protect.

I have to keep Amano-kun safe… and my neck out of Gasai-san’s reach.

***

5/05, Omekata Cult Shrine

Within the shrine grounds, everyone seems like they’re in a religious celebration. What seems like confetti is thrown around, and people walk in a praying position with strange scarves covered in eye designs around their shoulders. Several banners lie around, with writings like “Omekata-sama” and “The Clairvoyant Maiden”.

Clairvoyant… That sounds awfully like someone who has a diary. Hopefully I’m wrong.

Because, after all, I’ve managed to wiggle myself away from three Dead Ends so far. I don’t want another.

“Look, I’m not trying to be rude, but she wouldn’t even see the emperor without an appointment,” I hear a familiar voice say to Fourth. Turning around, I see Orin-chan in a miko outfit.

“Can’t you at least ask?” Fourth insists. “If she says no, I promise to go away.”

Orin-chan sighs. “Alright, fine. If you’re smart, though, you won’t get your hopes up.”

“You’re a lifesaver. Thanks,” Fourth says. Orin-chan, who appears to not have seen me, turns to look at a purple-haired woman—thankfully not Ninth—.

“Ai-chan! We’ve got a live one,” she says, and runs in her direction.

As I look around, I see Amano-kun looking at a frog in the nearby pond. Gasai-san is right next to him, almost hovering, checking his every move.

It’s almost creepy how she can just appear out of nowhere right over you. And I’m almost sure the person she’s watching right now is creeped out by this.

Amano-kun throws the frog into the pond. It hits the water a few times—before a huge carp eats it. He almost falls back in shock, and I hold back a laugh at how adorable that is. It reminds me of how, even in the freakiest of situations, some things never change.

Within a few minutes, though, we’re called in. The cult members give us some of those scarves to wear, and we head to the inside of the temple, where the Lady Omekata waits.

***

The first thing I see when we go in is a huge cage. Several bars separate the followers kneeling in the tatami carpet from a smaller room, where someone sits behind a small table over which a scroll has been spread. It’s a girl, about my age, slender and with long dark blue hair that reaches her ankles in the back. She looks up, and I notice her purple eyes have a dull luster. Her vision mustn’t be very good, probably. She wears a red-orange kimono tied at the waist by a thick white ribbon.

The four of us kneel on the tatami in front of the cage and wait.

“It is an honor to make your acquaintance,” she says, in a melodic, antiquated voice. “I am Lady Omekata, also known as Kasugano Tsubaki. I do hope you will enjoy your stay here.”

Awkward silence. None of us know how to respond to the leader of a religious cult being a teenager.

“I would have a closer look at your face, Yukiteru-kun,” she continues.

How…?

How does she know his name, for starters?

Amano-kun hesitates. “You’re…”

“Quite,” Lady Omekata states. “I have been burdened with poor vision from childhood. Thus I spend the greater portion of my life holding court from this most humble of cells.”

She speaks very formally to us, befitting her position as High Priestess. But, to me, she sounds more like a mechanical, beautiful, and unmoving doll, repeating from a scripted recording engraved somewhere deep inside.

“One of the few consolations afforded me,” she continues, “is to write of the many visitors I receive from far flung corners of the globe. Not a month ago, however,” she says, “my record of such people began to offer details of events yet to come.”

Everyone gasps, except me.

I knew it.

I knew she was a Diary Holder!

“Thus,” Lady Omekata continues, “I have taken to calling it the Clairvoyant Diary. Upon it are written the observations of those around me.” She smiles and pulls up her scroll. “This is my diary. I am designated Sixth among you.”

I can feel my blood boiling and freezing. Right before us sits the Sixth, and next to me are the Fourth, First, and Second. Not to mention the Ninth, who is being held captive here. That makes six out of the 12 Diary Holders who are still alive. If any of the other six came by and saw all of us here, it would be child’s play to kill us all.

And I remember Fourth set up the police for a raid. Does Lady Omekata know that, too?

“Detective,” she says, “it seems you’ve prepared a raid as a precautionary measure. How very sharp of you.”

My breath catches in my throat. She knows. And we’re surrounded by her followers. One order and the four of us are dead.

A sound of something shuffling gets into my ears. I look and see Amano-kun hiding behind Fourth, trembling.

Lady Omekata’s eyes are wide with surprise. Suddenly she starts laughing.

“Please forgive my laughter. It’s just…” She continues to chuckle. Amano-kun raises himself from his position and looks, confused, at the cage.

“Your reputation precedes you,” she says. “And yet you lay prostrate before me like a trained dog. I assure you, you have nothing to fear from me. I have no desire to succeed God.”

A pause, as I scan my surroundings. Many of Lady Omekata’s followers—probably fifty at least—sit in the tatami in two ordered rows at each side of the room. All of them look to their laps in reverence of their lady.

So why am I feeling like this—that something terrible is about to happen? The air is heavy, but not with formal coldness. It’s the same chill when a blade is poised to stab you and you can’t see it.

“The woman called Ninth is being kept below. You have my blessing to do with her as you will,” Lady Omekata concludes.

Fourth stands up. “Know, this… this is far too easy.”

“I am not one to meddle in secular matters.”

Slowly, she lifts up her scroll to show us what’s written on it.

Tonight, Kasugano Tsubaki will be killed

--  DEAD END - - 

She’s got a Dead End!

“My thought is bent on more eternal concerns. You, though…” Her eyes turn to Amano-kun. “In the course of this shameful game, you have already foiled two Dead Ends.” She smiles. “I propose an exchange of sorts. I shall give you Uryuu Minene on condition that Yukiteru-kun stays here and protects me.”

“No way in hell!” Gasai-san shrieks. “We’re not doing this agreement!”

This is a problem. If we can’t negotiate with Lady Omekata, then we can’t get rid of Ninth. But no way in hell I’m giving up Amano-kun to her, High Priestess or anything.

If he’s going, I’ll go with him!

I stand up. “Excuse me, Lady Omekata,” I say. “If Amano-kun is staying here, I will too.”

“And you are?”

“Shinonome Tsubasa. Also known as the Thirteenth.” I inhale sharply. “If I may be so bold, Lady Omekata, I’ve had for a while a feeling that something will happen today. While I cannot at all surpass the experience of Fourth or the drive of Second, I have a weapon I can defend myself and others with. Not to mention, I have avoided three Dead Ends so far.”

Amano-kun looks at me wildly. “Three?” He chokes out. “When? How did you…?”

“The first Dead End I avoided was one where I followed you to that building and got slaughtered by Third,” I say, calmly. “The second was one where Gasai-san stabbed me to death in the same occasion. The third was the thing with Ninth at school.”

Fourth is clearly disturbed. “You didn’t tell me that part, Thirteenth,” he says slowly. “Three Dead Ends avoided… What is the meaning of this?”

“I didn’t wanna creep the hell out of you,” I sigh. “Do you think I like going around and telling the people who are supposed to gut me how I’ve avoided death before?”

It’s like I’ve slapped him across the mouth. He falls silent, just as Gasai-san speaks:

“You really were there, then. My diary did not lie.”

“The future doesn’t lie unless you change it, Gasai-san,” I reply. “And I changed mine.”

Finally I look at Lady Omekata. “Did my argument convince you, Lady Omekata?”

She smiles. “I am impressed, Thirteenth. Three Dead Ends… That ties you with Yukiteru-kun. Therefore, I allow you to stay here, shall this contract be agreed to.” She shifts slightly in the tatami. “Fourth, I presume you have nothing to say.”

He sighs. “Well, Thirteenth’s spoken her piece, and right now I have no complaints.” He turns his head to look at Amano-kun. “And you, First? What do you say? Staying over or not?”

He hesitates for a moment, so I give him my best reassuring smile. “Okay,” he says. Then he looks at me. “Thanks, Shinonome-san.”

I blush and look down. “You’re welcome,” I reply.

Well, no way in hell I was leaving you alone with her during the night, High Priestess or not.

I’m not Gasai-san, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful in this kind of situation, you know.

***

Night begins to fall. Orin-chan and the lady I saw her talking to earlier today—Ai I heard her call her—bring some futons into the cage, then bow farewell and walk away. None of them seem to recognize me, though.

“All right. What’s the diary say about your death?” Amano-kun asks. “I mean, the person coming for you.”

“One of the many limitations of the scroll. A fear of my enemy. It says nothing,” Lady Omekata replies.

“I hope that the enemies are not within the cult,” I whisper. “If that happens, it may become hard to guard everything, Lady Omekata.”

“Just Tsubaki is fine,” she replies.

“Okay… Tsubaki-san.” It’s a bit weird, since we are the same age but completely different, but rehearsing it in my mind, it feels better than the previous one.

I look around and see Gasai-san and Fourth at the door, the earlier still with her phone in her hand. Probably looking at her diary, checking if Amano-kun isn’t going to do anything weird.

“If I may say so,” Tsubaki-san says, “that girl with pink hair… she is a threat to you.”

Amano-kun looks up, shocked. “Yuno? Why so?”

“I cannot condescend to trust her. My heart tells me that if you are not careful, you’ll surely meet your end by that girl.” She looks at me. “And you too, Thirteenth. I can see the Reaper coming for you, and it has pink pigtails.”

So she’s felt it too. The sensation that, at any moment, Gasai-san will snap and do something unrepairable. Like… trying to kill me. AGAIN. I don’t want this to become a trend.

“Is that, like, what your diary says or…” Amano-kun trails off.

“My intuition says,” Tsubaki-san cuts.

Suddenly, four Future Diary phones buzz in unison. The futons in the cage begin to smoke, and soon, fire ignites inside.

“Tsubaki-san, look out!” Amano-kun shrieks. The fire rises even higher.

An old man appears. “We’ve got a fire!” He shrieks. “Someone bring water quickly! Hurry up! Douse the mattresses now!”

For some reason I decide to check my phone. To my shock, it reads:

5/05

Key events of the day:

1. Picked up by Fourth in his car along with Amano-kun and Gasai-san.
2. Went to the Omekata cult shrine. Saw Orin-chan there, but she didn’t recognize me.
3. Met Kasugano Tsubaki, High Priestess of the cult and the Sixth Diary Holder. She seemed like a nice girl.
4. Decided to stay with Amano-kun and watch over Tsubaki-san since she had a Dead End flag triggered.
5. Someone tried to kill Tsubaki-san setting fire to the futons in her cage. This creepy old man got hit in the head with an axe.
6. The followers started to axe each other out of nowhere. What the hell.
7. Gasai-san axed me in the back of the head.

-- DEAD END --

If I wrote the old man is creepy, then he must’ve done something. Future me, who got axed in the back of the head, just didn’t write what.

Well, since he’s going to get glocked by an NPC anyways, I might as well do Tsubaki-san a favor and do it myself. Probably, this is about her, since he’s most likely some high guy in the cult to be giving orders like that, and this always happens in every cult subplot you look at.  

A random guy, with his eyes glazed over, runs and throws a bucket of something onto the fire. Instead of going down like it should, it goes even higher.

“You idiot, you’re using gasoline!” Creepy Old Man shouts. The guy instantly recovers consciousness. “Was I doing something just now?” he gasps.

“Simpleton!” Creepy Old Man shouts. Then he turns. “Someone bring a bucket of water!”

I’ve decided. I’ll do it. I am sure. I know that I need to save Tsubaki-san, because if she dies here then I’m almost sure that someone else will get a Dead End too. Maybe Amano-kun. Maybe me.

I pull out my scissors, and stare at them, at their long, black jaws. I’ve always known they’re too big for school scissors. Maybe these scissors were given to Amano-kun by Muru Muru, so that he could use those as a weapon. And now they’re with me.

So I’ll use them… to prevent my Dead End, and Tsubaki-san’s. She can’t die like this. It’s so stupid.

I run behind the old man, right as Random Guy No. 2 comes with an axe, and drive the blade into his back. For a second it catches on something, I don’t know, his ribcage, and then slides in like a knife through butter. Warm, slimy blood slips through the handles and dampens my hands.

“Ugh…” he groans, and goes down just as the axe falls. I dodge it and, straight after, stab Random Guy No. 2 in the stomach. He falls to the ground with a thump.

“SHINONOME-SAN!” Amano-kun shrieks.

Without stopping, I run to the wooden door separating the cage from the rest of the building and charge against it. It comes down easily. Wiping the blood off the blades against my stockings, I sheathe the scissors in the left one, then go to where Tsubaki-san is.

Thankfully she’s still conscious, but coughing from the smoke. I help her up and support her as we walk down the small set of stairs and out of the burning room.

“Thank you,” she whispers. “For saving me… and killing that wretched man. He was the one behind two years of hellish torture.” She then turns to look at me and smiles thinly. “I never wanted to be a god… I just wanted my old life back. I wanted to erase this invisible world that only brought me pain. But I could not even save myself. If you had not went in, I might as well have died. I don’t think… I can make this alone.” She inhales sharply, probably trying to hold back a shuddering breath. “Tsubasa-san… could you please help me? To survive this shameful game?”

I nod. “I promise. After all…” and I add what I believe is the corniest sentence I’ve thought up in a while, “I promised not to let you die, Tsubaki-san.”

She blushes and stares at the ground—something I’m thankful for, because what I’m seeing right now is the textbook definition of hell. Her followers, who look like they’ve been mass-hypnotized, are axing each other, splattering blood everywhere. And I know that, if I don’t do something else right now, not only me, but Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san might die right here.

Wait…

I look back. Creepy Old Man lies dead on the ground, a pool of blood gathering around his ribs. Right over him, lies the body of Random Guy No. 2, his clothes stained red.

I did that.

I actually killed them.

My knees bend and I fall to the ground. Thankfully I manage to prevent Tsubaki-san from hitting her head when we fall, but I can’t do anything besides that.

I feel the urge to vomit. Suddenly, the scissors in my stocking feel so cold.

What did I just do?

“Tsubasa-san!” Tsubaki-san’s voice sounds so far away, it feels like I’m underwater. “Tsubasa-san, watch out!”

I jump. I don’t know how, or why. It’s a mere muscular reaction.

An axe blade lodges on the ground right where my head was a second ago.

My phone buzzes, indicating a future change.

I look up. A crazed Gasai Yuno is holding a red-soaked axe, splatters of the same color covering her face. She stares manically at me and raises the axe again.

And I run.

I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know where I am. I don’t even remember why I’m running.

I just feel the warm, ghostly hand in my hold, and the promise never to let it cool.

“Shinonome-san!”

For a fleeting second I turn. Amano-kun is running after me, blue eyes wild and beanie almost falling off his head. I don’t stop, running, running until I finally fall.

The darkness comes so easily, I’m almost smiling.

If this is a dream, then I want to wake up.

***

I do wake up. But I’m still here. Still feeling like my hands don’t belong to me. Still with screams bashing around my head.

Hazy purple eyes stare into my own.

“Tsubasa-san?”

I rub my eyes and sit up. “I’m still alive,” I whisper, more to myself than to her. “How… how long have I been out?”

“Ten minutes,” Tsubaki-san replies. “I think it would be best to check your diary.”

I pull it out, thanking the heavens it didn’t break with all those falls of mine.

It reads:

5/05

Key events of the day:

1. Picked up by Fourth in his car along with Amano-kun and Gasai-san.
2. Went to the Omekata cult shrine. Saw Orin-chan there, but she didn’t recognize me.
3. Met Kasugano Tsubaki, High Priestess of the cult and the Sixth Diary Holder. She seemed like a nice girl.
4. Decided to stay with Amano-kun and watch over Tsubaki-san since she had a Dead End flag triggered.
5. Someone tried to kill Tsubaki-san setting fire to the futons in her cage. I pulled out Tsubaki-san from the fire and promised not to let her die. We’re allies now.
6. Stabbed two people with my scissors, one old man and one random guy.
7. Followers of the cult started to axe each other.
8. Fled from Gasai-san with Tsubaki-san and Amano-kun.
9. Heard these guys monologuing on top of the bridge I was hiding under with Tsubaki-san. They introduced themselves as the “Quintwelve” and said one of them was the real Twelfth, who had swallowed a goddamn BOMB since he or she had a Dead End flag. Couldn’t hear anything else after that, just incoherent shouting.
10. Fought Gasai-san after she killed the Twelfth. Apparently, his name was Hirasaka Yomotsu.
11. Escaped the cult with Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san. Dunno what happened to Fourth and Gasai-san, but that doesn’t matter anymore. We’re safe now.

No Dead End.

Phew.

And one more Diary Holder name… Wait, the Twelfth too?!

Just how many Diary Holders are here? First, Second, Fourth, Sixth, Ninth, and Twelfth, besides me, the Thirteenth? That makes seven. More than half of those still alive.

And here it says that Gasai-san will kill the Twelfth and we will fight. But apparently, I’ll win and escape with both Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san.

That’s good. I just have to follow it now, and…

And…

My hands start trembling again as the memories of the past hours begin to flood back. I pull out the scissors from my stocking and stare at them.

“I killed them…” I whisper. “I killed both of them… I’m no better than Gasai-san…”

Gasai-san, who tried to stab me with a glass knife inside a booby-trapped building.

Gasai-san, who’s probably preventing the cultists from reaching Amano-kun, while I’m hiding like a damn coward.

This is sick. One month ago I didn’t even know a pair of scissors could be used as a weapon. One month after that I’m hiding under a temple passageway with a half-blind girl from hypnotized cultists with axes.

What was Deus Ex Machina thinking when he picked candidates for his Survival Game?

Clearly, he wasn’t in his right mind. No one in their right mind would pick a bunch of teenagers, plus a serial killer, a terrorist, and who knows who else to compete in a battle royale to become God of Time and Space.

I feel someone tap my shoulder. I glance up from the scissors in my hand and see Tsubaki-san.

“We have to get out of here,” she says. “According to your diary, any moment now the Twelfth will appear.”

“And be killed by Gasai-san.”

“Which you will be fighting.” She inhales sharply. “I wonder where Ninth is right now. She might as well have escaped during this ruckus.”

“Her diary is the Escape Diary. It’s probably a fact she’s found a way out,” I sigh. Then I see her staring at something. “What is it, Tsubaki-san?”

“This is…” She reaches out and pulls something from the ground. A temari covered in flower designs. “So it was here,” she whispers to herself.

“What is this?” I ask. Inhaling sharply in a way that seems like she’s choking back tears, Tsubaki-san cradles the temari in her arms, and does not answer for a moment. When she speaks, her voice is hurt and deep:

“This… is something I thought I’d lost forever long ago,” she says. “It was a gift from my late mother when I was a young girl.”

“Your mother?”

She sighs. “Yes.” Then she glances around warily. “Tsubasa-san, what you’re about to hear… is something I haven’t told anyone else.” She takes a deep breath.

“Since I was born, I’ve had poor vision. My parents, who founded the cult, claimed that in compensation God had given me the power to see the future. I was kept inside the temple my whole life, for my own safety.

“Despite that, I lived a happy life. My parents were with me, and all I needed was to be the symbolic figure of the Omekata cult. Until that day.

“Two years ago, my parents decided to disband the cult so that I could live a normal life. They were probably tired of keeping up the act. But… it wasn’t meant to be. They both died in a car accident. I was only ten years old.”

My breath catches in my throat as I watch her pause, trying to contain shuddering breaths. She clearly loved her parents dearly; losing them like this must have been terrible for her. As I think this, I feel a surge of compassion flood me. Poor Tsubaki-san.

“But that is not the worst part.” She takes a deep breath. “After my parents’ death, I was imprisoned in that cage you saw when you and the others walked in. And the purpose of the cult was changed. Instead of helping troubled people…” and she pauses again, clearly overwhelmed by something. “The second-in-command—Funatsu, the man you killed—declared that the room I was imprisoned in would be a place where people would cleanse themselves of their sins. And the sponge for this… was me.” She puts a hand to her chest. “You know what I mean, right, Tsubasa-san?”

I gasp, before nodding, feeling all the blood rush out of my face. In the end, I was right about Creepy Old Man. My diary saved me, again.

“I didn’t know,” I choke out, horror flooding me. “You’re my age, Tsubaki-san. And yet… and yet, what you’ve gone through… surpasses what a grown adult could ever attempt to bear. I…” and I look at the scissors in my hand, suddenly feeling much less terrible than before. If we hadn’t come here, if I hadn’t killed the old man, and if Tsubaki-san hadn’t been picked as a Diary Holder in general, she would have stayed in that hell for much longer. Thinking of this, all the weight of the sister blades in my hand vanishes.

Tsubaki-san then smiles thinly. “This temari was my sole support,” she continues. “One day, during a ritual, it slipped out of the cage and vanished. With my final lifeline gone, I decided to destroy the invisible world that caused me so much pain.

“Originally, I had planned to lure your group here so that I could kill all of you. But then, you saved me. It was then that I realized that I could change my path. That through rebirth, and not destruction, I could make the invisible world like the world I lived with my parents until two years ago.

“For this I thank you, Tsubasa-san,” she says, smiling. “I owe you everything. From now on, let us work together to make sure that no one else has to go through what happened to me.”

“Tsubaki-san…” I finally manage a smile. “Yes, let’s do this,” I say. “But we have to find Amano-kun first. And Fourth.”

Steps on the wood over our heads silence the both of us. Some incoherent shouts, then, running. Taking a deep breath, I decide to risk it and see what’s going on.

The moment I look up I see five people in weird clothes and an eye-shaped mask running towards Gasai-san. She throws a rock—but not at them. At the railing. It makes a clanging sound when it makes contact and flies off, nearly hitting me on the head.

The person with the red mask turns their head in the direction of the sound. Gasai-san runs in their direction, hatchet in hand—and I look away as the slash happens. I realize we’re bidding farewell to Twelfth when Uniformed Red Mask is dramatically thrown off the passageway and a small recording device—probably a Future Diary—speaks saying that the Twelfth, Hirasaka Yomotsu, has died.

My diary got it right again.

And Gasai-san sees me.

“Thirteenth,” she chokes out. “You were hiding while Yukkii was fearing for his life. You were never his ally, right?” Then she sees Tsubaki-san. “And you’re with Sixth, to top it off,” she says, rising anger in her voice. “I knew it. This was all a plot between you and Sixth to kill us.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I gasp. “I would never…”

“LIAR!” She swings the axe at me, and by a hair’s breadth she misses. Again, she attacks, and again she misses.

“Yuno, STOP!” Amano-kun shrieks behind her. But this time, she doesn’t stop. She keeps charging, again and again.

My phone buzzes again. And again. And again.

“Just stop dodging already, Thirteenth!” Gasai-san shrieks, swinging again in a mad attempt to try and hit me. “Die like the filler you are!”

With the corner of my eye I see Amano-kun, standing behind her, looking absolutely terrified. I also see when his eyes suddenly freeze over and he reaches for his dart pouch.

And then…

Tuf. The dart lodges on the inside of Gasai-san’s right knee.

She stumbles, more shocked than in pain, and falls to the ground.

“What…” I gasp. I barely have time to process what just happened before a hand grabs mine. Soon, I find myself dragged into a mad run for the hills.

“Wait!” I gasp. “Where’s Tsubaki-san?”

“I’m here!” Another hand grabs my other wrist. With the corner of my eye, I can see the fabrics of Tsubaki-san’s kimono flailing around as she runs. “We have to flee before she can get up!”

I barely recognize the boy dragging me as Amano-kun. Right now, he seems like a completely different person. His eyes, usually so peaceful, are wild like water right at the climax of a thunderstorm in the open sea, and his expression is frozen in a cold, hard anger.

“Tsubaki-san, where’s the door?!” He exclaims.

“Over there!” She points in the east direction. “We have to speed up, now!”

Right as she says this I hear the thundering sound of someone running behind us. A raspy, angered voice screeching:

“YUKKII!”

The gate enters our vision. It’s open, and we run until Fourth’s men stop us. I can barely hear their words as they talk into their radios, probably notifying their boss.

The only thing that is clear, besides Gasai-san’s—Second’s shouting in the distance, is Amano-kun’s tight hold on my hand. So warm, and yet, so cold. Like someone who is right there, but simultaneously a million miles away.

Fourth’s blurry silhouette enters my line of sight just as I face-plant into the backseat of one of the open police cars and black out.

Chapter Text

5/07, Sakurami Police Office

I enter the interrogation room and sit in the chair between Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san. On the other side of the table, Fourth stares at Amano-kun in shock.

“You are saying that Gasai attacked Thirteenth out of nowhere, First?” He’s asking.

“Yes, Kurusu-san,” Amano-kun says, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I thought that this deal would hold itself together. But…” He lowers his head, and stares at his lap. “In the end, Yuno is our enemy again.”

“Well, at least we recovered Sixth,” Fourth sighs. Then he turns to look at Tsubaki-san. “Have you got your diary?”

“Yes. Although…” and she unrolls the scroll with a sigh, “since all of my followers have been arrested, it has been rendered useless.”

“Arrested?” I ask. Fourth nods.

“One of the guys at the cult confessed a bunch of crimes in place of the entire group,” he says. “Mass arrest followed. Happened in the middle of the night, while you were recovering in the hospital.” Then he looks at me. “Thirteenth, First told me about the scissors. Honestly, if he hadn’t told me he gave you those I wouldn’t be able to figure how the heck you got 20 cm blades on you being a middle schooler. Nishijima almost freaked out when he saw that mess.”

“Um, Fourth…” I take a deep breath. “There was one more Diary Holder there besides Ninth and Tsubaki-san. The Twelfth.”

“Really? Did they get away?”

“No. Second killed him with a hatchet.”

“Oh.”

He then sighs. “Well, then you’d best update your list, Thirteenth. Two out, eleven still standing.”

I take out the list from my hidden pocket and a pen, but then I remember something.

“Tsubaki-san, what does the Clairvoyant Diary do again?”

“It reads what my followers see,” she replies. “But, right now, it only shows records within a jail cell.” 

In the end, the list ends up like this:

First: Amano Yukiteru (Random Diary,  records everything around user every couple minutes)

Second: Gasai Yuno (Yukiteru Diary, records Amano-kun’s condition and actions within 10-minute intervals)

Third: Hiyama Takao (Murder Diary, capabilities unknown)

Fourth: Kurusu Keigo (Investigation Diary, predicts information about future crimes and activities committed anywhere in Sakurami)

Fifth: ????

Sixth: Kasugano Tsubaki (Clairvoyant Diary, records what user’s followers see)

Seventh: ????

Eighth: Ueshita Kamado(?) (diary unknown)

Ninth: Uryuu Minene (Escape Diary, capabilities unknown)

Tenth: ????

Eleventh: ????

Twelfth: Hirasaka Yomotsu (diary unknown)

Thirteenth: Shinonome Tsubasa (me) (Summary Diary, predicts all key events of the day considering my biases with Amano-kun and Orin-chan)

“Here, Fourth,” I say, handing him the list. He looks at it and smiles.

“Good,” he says. “We have yet to identify four Diary Holders and confirm one. Also, camera footage has confirmed the name of the Twelfth’s diary.”

“Which is?”

“The Justice Diary.”

“Lame name. What about what it can do?”

“It predicts the acts of justice that the user will perform or any injustice committed around the user. The guy apparently fancied himself a vigilante.”

“Lame. No surprise he was second to go down. Lameness would have already done him in if fashion could kill.”

He raises an eyebrow for a moment. “How come you aren’t shocked? There were people, hypnotized, killing others with axes around.”

“Fourth, we’re in a battle royale. Shock doesn’t do you any good, and it’s lethal at worst. Anyhow,” I sigh, “do you remember the silhouettes of the other guys at the Cathedral of Causality?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you in the police work with spoken descriptions of suspects, right?” Fourth nods. “If we describe the other Diary Holders to your subordinates, we might actually find them sooner.”

“What makes you think all of them are within Sakurami’s jurisdiction?”

“Deus probably isn’t that smart to scatter the Diary Holders all over the world,” I reply. “And besides, if we’ve already got at least half within Sakurami, do you think there would be any others outside?”

Fourth goes pale. “Thirteenth, you’re calling the God of Time and Space dumb? That’s blasphemy, as far as I know.”

“Well, if I didn’t get literally nuked out of existence right now, he probably doesn’t mind.” I cross my arms over my chest. “What do you think, Fourth? A good idea?”

He finally nods. “Yeah, it’s not a bad idea in my opinion. What do you think, First, Sixth?”

Amano-kun lights up. “It’s a very good idea,” he says. He looks at me and smiles. “Nice thinking, Shinonome-san!”

I cough to hide a very inconvenient blush and turn to look at Tsubaki-san. “And you, Tsubaki-san?”

She sighs. “It’s a good idea, but… I wish I could be of use. Without my followers out, my diary is useless, so I am nothing but a liability right now.”

“Tsubaki-san, I didn’t save you because I wanted to use your diary,” I blurt. She blinks.

“Then why?”

I take a deep breath. “Because… I couldn’t just let you die,” I say. “I said I would help you prevent your Dead End, and that promise’s still counting. And I also promised to help you make the world a better place. Until my Dead End claims me, I will keep that promise. Even… even if I have to use these scissors again.” I reach down and pull them out of my stocking, the dried blood not at all darkening the gleam of the blades. “I always keep my promises. That’s why… I won’t let you, or Amano-kun, die. Not on my watch. My diary may not be the best one for minor things, or the least unbiased, but I will use it to protect the ones I care about. If I become God in the process, well, that’s just an effect.”

Tsubaki-san blushes and looks down. “I… I understand,” she says in a hushed whisper. “In that case… I vote in favor of your idea.”

I look at Fourth. “You heard them,” I say.

“Okay,” he sighs. “Then, please write your descriptions here.”

I start writing on the paper he gives me.

Fifth: Child, about 100-130 cm tall, seven years old tops. Squeaky boy's voice, probably wearing a cap.

Seventh: Man in his 20s, muscular, with hair that looks like there’s an ice cream cone stuck out of his forehead, or like an unicorn’s horn.

Eighth: Large woman with disproportional head-to-body ratio.

Tenth: Man with large sleeves and pointy beard. Probably in his late 40s or early 50s.

Eleventh: Tall man in his 50s or 60s, bald, small round glasses.

“That’s it?” He asks once I finish.

“Yes,” I say, pushing the paper in his direction. “That’s what I remember from the candidates we haven’t confirmed yet.”

He stares at the paper for a moment. “Well, it will take some time to narrow it down, but we’ve got until July 28th. It won’t be long before we find them.” He smiles. “Until then, you should stay in a safe place.”

“A safe place?” Amano-kun seems like he’s has an idea. “Maybe my house. Mom will be home in a few days, and hopefully the other Diary Holders don’t know who we are yet.”

“Yeah, but let’s not forget we are dealing with a terrorist, among other things, who knows our names,” I point out. “And unless you cover the nameplate, Ninth will know it’s your house just by walking in front of it.”

“Covering the nameplate won’t be a problem,” he says. “But I feel guilty about having to lie to Mom about why we are doing that.”

“It will be for the best,” Tsubaki-san says. I nod along, and Fourth stands up.

“It’s decided,” he says. “Thirteenth, you and Sixth will stay at First’s house until further notice. I will keep watch for Second.”

“Thanks, Fourth.” I turn to look at Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san. “Let’s get going, then.”

***

5/07, Amano Residence

“Thanks for the ride, Kurusu-san,” Amano-kun says as we get off the car in front of his house.

“You’re welcome,” the police officer replies. Then his expression morphs into a warning glance. “First, I do hope you will behave well over these few days. You have two young ladies staying over, so… I highly advise you to not do anything weird.”

Instead of the average blush, Amano-kun suddenly lights up, as if remembering something, then turns and runs into the house, slamming the door behind him. I blink, caught off guard.

“I wonder what is the meaning of this?” Tsubaki-san says. 

“Probably getting rid of the evidence,” Fourth suggests. I immediately turn in his direction, seeing red.

“You’re saying this as if he kept porn magazines under his bed,” I hiss. “Amano-kun is a sweet innocent angel. He would never do something like that.”

“He’s still a boy,” Fourth argues. “And boys will be boys. So… be careful, Thirteenth. And Sixth too.”

He then drives away, leaving us standing in the sidewalk just as Amano-kun opens the door.

“Shinonome-san, Tsubaki-san, you can come on in,” he says, face tinted red. For some reason I feel like I’m smelling smoke of something burning, but I dismiss it as something of my imagination.

The house looks much like my own, except it has a small yard around it that’s covered in green grass. We are led to the kitchen, where a small meal of instant ramen and leftover rice awaits.

“I couldn’t do much, since we decided to come here all of a sudden and I’m not the best cook in the universe,” Amano-kun explains. “But I hope you two like this.”

The moment I sit down I dig into the ramen with a lion’s hunger.

“Dwlishus!” I exclaim, my mouth full of food. “I mean, delicious!” I correct myself upon swallowing. “I eat this same brand of instant ramen every now and then, but it never tasted this good!”

“I agree with Tsubasa-san,” Tsubaki-san adds along, smiling over the rim of her pot. “This ramen is unlike any meal I have tasted in a long while. You are a really good ramen maker, Yukiteru-kun.”

“Thanks, you two,” Amano-kun says, lowering his head in embarrassment. “Sorry about the mess.”

“Mess? What mess?” I raise my eyebrows. “You mean the smell of smoke coming from the backyard?”

“True,” Tsubaki-san says, setting her pot back on the table and taking a long sniff of the air. “It seems like someone is burning magazines in the yard.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I have smelled several materials burning in my years of life. This seems like paper, and the kind of paper used in convenience store magazines.”

“That’s way too specific…”

As I say this I pull out my diary without thinking. The first part of today’s entry that jumps to view is, well…

4) Found some sort of campfire hole in the yard. It was filled to the brim with burnt magazines.

“Tsubaki-san, look at this. I guess my diary agrees with your opinion,” I say, showing her the phone. In seconds, though, she starts giggling. “What?” I ask her.

“I didn’t know,” she says, still laughing. “I didn’t know… ah, just look at what you’ve written!”

I blink a few times, before I look at the rest of the entry.

5) Went to the amusement park with Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san.

6) This really handsome white-haired guy returned the promotional Valentine’s Day roller coaster couple ticket I accidentally dropped. He was cute, but Amano-kun is 100M times cuter! (*°∀°)=3

7) Went on the roller coaster with Amano-kun using the ticket. He was so scared he kept holding my hand through the entire ride! I nearly died of embarrassment (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) but it was SO worth it!

8) On the bus back home, Amano-kun fell asleep on my shoulder. So cute!!!! uwu

My entire body gets hot in seconds. I slam down the screen as hard as I can and shove it into my pocket, careful not to break it. Finally I speak again:

“So, what do you guys want to do today? Maybe, I dunno, go to the amusement park or something?”

Amano-kun lights up. “Good idea,” he says. “Although… I’m afraid Ninth might attack us there.”

“True,” Tsubaki-san says. “But if we’ve known Ninth, then she wouldn’t do it on public. Tsubasa-san’s diary would have alerted us to a Dead End.”

“Really? Did you see it?”

She coughs. “Yes, I did. And I can confirm no Dead End flags were triggered.”

I mentally thank Tsubaki-san when Amano-kun finally agrees and we start getting ready for the amusement park trip.

I swear, if he had seen that entry, then I would have snapped the damn phone in half and earned a one-way ticket out of reality.

Because that would have been better that than the embarrassment of getting my secret crush discovered.

Chapter Text

5/07, Sakurami Amusement Park

“My goodness, this place is so large!” Tsubaki-san comments as we walk into the amusement park. “It is the first time I’ve seen an amusement park, and yet it still feels disproportional for one.”

“I think so too,” I sigh, uncomfortably aware of everyone’s eyes on her. Since Tsubaki-san couldn’t possibly go to the park wearing that kimono, I borrowed her some of my stuff. And now, in her new short-sleeved blue shirt, knee-down jeans skirt, and black ankle boots, she’s got at least fifty pairs of eyes watching her.

And I’m the only one who seems to notice. Sheesh.

“Hey, let’s go to the roller coaster!” I exclaim, to set my plan in motion. “I’ve always wanted to go.”

Amano-kun stops in his tracks. “Roller coaster?” He whispers. “Um, I’ve never been so good with heights, so…”

“No problem,” Tsubaki-san intervenes. “I can go with Tsubasa-san first. I have always wanted to go on a roller coaster ride.” She turns and looks at me expectantly. “What do you think, Tsubasa-san?”

I hesitate for a moment. “Sure,” I say, smiling. “I’ll go buy the tickets for me and you while you two go get us some popcorn.”

“Popcorn…?”

I quickly realize she doesn’t know what popcorn is. “Popcorn is, um, what you get if you put corn kernels in a pressure pan and make them… pop with the heat,” I explain carefully. “Then, you put some salt—or anything, really, just about everything edible in Earth goes well with popcorn—and dig in. Yum!” I smile, recalling the last taste of popcorn I had—which was about some weeks ago when Kousaka literally blackmailed me into going to the movies with him. We watched some cheap slasher movie where the action was TERRIBLE, the script was EVEN WORSE, the gore was APPALLING, and the terrified main couple was so BADLY WRITTEN they were truly a MATCH MADE IN CRINGE HEAVEN. But hey, at least the popcorn was good.

Tsubaki-san makes a confused expression. “So, if you put caramel in popcorn, it works?”

“Yes. It’s one of the most known combinations, and it tastes SO GOOD!” I can’t hold back a cringey anime-girl expression as I say this.

She smiles. “Then I guess I will order that one. Well, I’ll meet you at the line for the roller coaster.” She then walks off with Amano-kun towards the Popcorn & Cotton Candy shop.

Almost immediately I run to the line, my fingers itching for the tickets.

“Damn it, when I came up with the plan last month I didn’t have Tsubaki-san to consider,” I mutter to myself. “But I can’t just tell her she’s third-wheeling me.”

As I whisper I reach for the hidden ticket in my bag. It comes out easily, its pinkish paper recognizable to any citizen in Sakurami.

Every year on February, the park holds a Valentine’s Day promotion where if you spend at least 10.000 yen at the park shops, you earn a promotional ticket worth two people at any attraction. I got it as a gift from a neighbor soon after I moved in on March, and didn’t think of how I could use it until I met Amano-kun. Now, I thought I had the perfect opportunity to take him to the roller coaster using the ticket and use the suspension bridge effect to finally sway him into liking me back—if he doesn’t already. But when I came up with this plan, I didn’t have to consider the variable that Tsubaki-san would be with us.

But considering that Tsubaki-san knows what I plan to do, unless she actually has romantic feelings for Amano-kun—what is unlikely, hopefully—she might actually help me. She already helped me before, by intentionally omitting what she actually read in my diary. So…

Suddenly, the paper flicks out of my hand and falls on the ground.

“Ah!” I exclaim, reaching for the ticket, but another hand grabs it. As I look up, garnet eyes stare me back.

“Does this belong to you, young lady?” The boy asks.

I manage to recover myself from the shock and respond. “Yes, it’s mine,” I tell him, taking the ticket handed to me. “Thank you.”

“This is a Valentine’s Day promotional ticket, right?” The boy inquires. “But you’re alone in the line. Where is your partner?”

“Um…” I hesitate for a moment, purposefully, before answering. “He’s with my friend buying popcorn. I’m here to buy tickets to go with her because he’s scared of heights.”

“I see.” He pauses for a moment, then asks something that seems completely unrelated to what we were discussing. “Did you get this ticket by yourself, or someone gave it to you?”

“A gift from my neighbor. Her daughter had just broken up with her long-term boyfriend and didn’t want to see that goddamn ticket in the house, so she gave it to me.”

“When was that?”

“March, when I moved into Sakurami.”

He pauses again, this time longer. Then he says:

“I’m pretty sure that you must be worried sick right now, um…”

“Tsubasa. Shinonome Tsubasa,” I say, feeling a bit foolish for saying my name to someone I met literal minutes ago. “You?”

“Akise Aru,” the boy replies. “I’m pretty sure you must be worried sick, Shinonome-san.”

“Why so?” I ask.

“You’re not sure if you can trust the heart of your friend, who you didn’t account for during planning for this, and now you’re stuck in this line buying two other tickets because your crush for some reason cannot go right now.”

“And where did you get THAT from?” I demand. Akise Aru merely smiles before replying.

“First, you’re buying more tickets. That means that you only accounted for you and your crush, who would be covered by the promotional couple ticket, what therefore means that there’s at least three people in your current group. The fact that you’re buying two tickets, judging by the amount of change you’re carrying, means that the amount of ‘someone else that’s not your crush’ in your group is most likely one person.”

“How? There could be two other people,” I say. “I could be buying the tickets for them.”

“Maybe,” he says. “I considered that possibility. But I discarded it when I recalled your mumbling—I heard it as I approached to buy tickets for another attraction here. You said that you couldn’t just tell someone they were third-wheeling you, referring to one person. When there is more than one person third-wheeling, you use the term in plural.“

“And how would you guess if I am not buying tickets for this person and my crush?” I blush when I say the word out loud, but a stranger like Akise Aru wouldn’t possibly spread it to someone I know.

“On my way to the line, I heard two teenagers walking to the Popcorn & Cotton Candy store and chattering. One of them, a girl, said that she couldn’t wait for ‘Tsubasa-san’ to buy the tickets for their roller coaster ride together. The boy then replied that ‘Shinonome-san’ would probably do it fast, since the girl next to him had never ridden a roller coaster before and the same ‘Shinonome-san’ adored roller coasters. I merely had to confirm your name to establish this. Plus, you just said he’s scared of heights.”

“And the part about not trusting my friend’s heart? Where did you get that from?”

“Body language. When I got here, you were mumbling and doing anxious gestures. And the presence of the couple ticket puts the final nail on the coffin.” He smiles. “Did I get it right, Shinonome Tsubasa-san?”

I inhale sharply. “Well done, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,” I say with a sigh. “You got it right. Want to follow that path?”

“I want to be the greatest detective in the world,” he replies. Then he smiles as he notices something. I follow his gaze to see Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san running in my direction, carrying three huge buckets of popcorn.

“Well then, Shinonome-san,” Akise says, “I wish you the best of luck in your love life. After all,” and he smirks, “you have good taste, from what I could perceive.”

“What?” I blurt, but he’s already gone.

“Tsubasa-san!” Tsubaki-san exclaims. “We’ve got the popcorn! Did you get the tickets?”

“Wait just a moment!” During my talk with Akise, I didn’t see the line going. It’s empty; all I have to do is go to the counter and hand in the change.

Tickets in hand, I make my way back to the two. “Here,” I say, handing Tsubaki-san her ticket. “Amano-kun, please take care of our popcorn while we go to the roller coaster.”

“O-okay!” He exclaims, and for some reason that resurfaces Akise’s final line.

“After all, you have good taste, from what I could perceive.”

Normally a guy doesn’t say that to a girl.

Just who was I really talking to, after all?

***

“I’m anxious,” Tsubaki-san says as we approach the end of the line. “I’ve never been in a roller coaster before. How is it like, Tsubasa-san?”

“It’s amazing,” I tell her. “At first you’re a bit tense, with the rise and everything, but then the cart’s going down and adrenaline just takes over the control room. It’s just… exhilarating.” I smile. “But don’t worry, you can hold onto the security bar if you’re scared.”

She forces a smile. “I understand. I hope this is as good as you said, Tsubasa-san.”

We hand the tickets to the woman at the turnstile and board the first row, right in the front. As we go, I spot a familiar head of snowy hair sitting right behind us, in the second row. It’s Akise.

When our eyes meet, he doesn’t say anything. He just smiles knowingly. And that’s enough to tell me he knows he was completely right.

I throw him a reluctant look of “Okay, you won this time” before I settle in with Tsubaki-san and help her lower the security bar.

A few minutes later, the cart starts moving, and towards the initial rise. Something grabs my hand and I realize that Tsubaki-san’s fingers have coiled around mine with such force that her knuckles are almost white.

“Tsubaki-san…” My voice trails off as we fall. The speed is much higher than I remember going just a few weeks ago, and my hair is thrown around by the wind like a palm tree whipping in a storm.

That’s when I remember Tsubaki-san’s hair, which is long enough to reach her ankles. I look back, and sure enough, it’s flailing wildly as far as the second row, where I can barely see the top of Akise’s head as he ducks—or tries to duck—to avoid the mass of dark blue bangs.

“Tsubaki-san, I think we’ll need to go to the hair studio urgently!” I shriek, but she’s not listening. She’s grabbed onto my arm so hard it’s hurting. I don’t know how she can hold something that hard if she hasn’t left that cage in two years before the 5th.

“You didn’t say your friend had a whole waterfall attached to her head, Shinonome-san!” Akise shouts from the back row. “My neck is hurting and I can’t see anything!”

“Well, I didn’t remember the roller coaster was THIS fast!” I shout back, trying to catch the wild hair with my free hand. “Could you give me a hand?”

With his help, I manage to contain Tsubaki-san’s hair and push it behind my back, which I firmly stick onto the back of my seat. It stays like this until the cart finally slows into a stop at the end of the ride.

“Owww…” I gasp when we finally raise the security bar. “This was terrifying.” I turn to look at Tsubaki-san. “What did you think, Tsubaki-san?”

She looks up with a beaming smile. “It was fantastic!” She exclaims giddily. “It was like you said, Tsubasa-san. I’m… sorry about your arm.” She lets go—I can almost hear my arm muscles say *phew*—and then stands up with a bit of difficulty. “Let’s do this again someday!”

I smile, pushing the inviability of this statement to the back of my mind. “Okay.”

Behind us, right after boarding off the second row, Akise almost falls over.

“I really need to rethink going on the second row if they do this again… That hair really was something,” I hear him mutter as he walks off. 

***

“We’re back!” I announce as me and Tsubaki-san—the latter wobbling unsteadily, steadied with an arm around my shoulder—arrive at where Amano-kun’s sitting on a bench, holding our three buckets of popcorn.

“How was it?” He asks.

“Very… unexpected,” Tsubaki-san says, letting go of me as she sits down on the bench. “My hair went out of control because of the wind, and Tsubasa-san had to contain it behind her back.” Suddenly she smirks. “With the help of a nice gentleman who wasn’t too hard on the eyes.”

“Huh?” I can almost see cat ears perking up on top of Amano-kun’s head. “What gentleman, may I ask?”

“Tsubaki-san, what’re you…?!” I gasp, but she just looks at me with the face that says “Trust me, I’ve got this”. Then she goes on:

“From what I could see, he is about our age. Handsome face, white hair, garnet-red eyes. And… he appeared to know Tsubasa-san.” She blinks innocently a few times. “Isn’t this suspicious?”

Suddenly I figure out what she’s doing and shoot a glare that says “You wouldn’t…”. “Yes I would”, her eyes reply.

“Weird. I thought Shinonome-san didn’t usually talk to boys.” That phrase ignites a question mark immediately. Where did he get that from? “Maybe he’s a cousin or something?”

“Cousins don’t call each other by their surnames,” Tsubaki-san says calmly. “And yet they bantered so informally when trying to contain my wild hair.”

I try to open my mouth, but the words don’t come out. If I say something it will only make this situation worse. She’s deliberately pushing a button common in rom-coms—the existence of a possible rival. The problem is if she actually knows how to use it.

Amano-kun looks at me with his eyes somewhere between hurt and confused. “Who’s this guy you’re talking about, Shinonome-san?” He asks. “I saw you two chattering on the line for the tickets while I was buying popcorn with Tsubaki-san, and then shouting at each other during the ride while waiting for you here. Is he a friend of yours, or…?”

Somehow I manage not to lose my composure as I do the explanation. “He returned something I dropped on the line for the tickets,” I explain carefully. “I’d never seen him before that. He was a complete stranger.”

“Did you ask his name?”

“I did, when he asked mine. It’s Akise Aru.”

“Akise Aru, huh…” He stares at the sky for a while, then speaks.

“I think he might be a Diary Holder.”

I almost choke on my popcorn. “What?! Why? You remember the descriptions of the Diary Holders I wrote for Fourth. None of them look like Akise-kun.”

“He might have been disguised,” Amano-kun suggests. “A Diary Holder could have had half a brain to disguise themselves to go before the other candidates.”

I think for a moment. Akise was able to guess my entire plan of action just by the whole surrounding before, during and after the act of picking up my dropped ticket. This alone demonstrates that he’s highly intelligent. If he was a Diary Holder, he could have perfectly disguised as a guy in his 20-somethings or an old man. But not as a child, so I discard Fifth as a possible disguise.

“Maybe,” I say, after a moment. “But I didn’t let him see my phone. Just in case you’re worried.”

“Phew.” Amano-kun sighs in relief, then smiles. “Okay, I guess I’ll go on the roller coaster then.”

“What?” I blink. It feels like I’m dreaming right now. He just got over a longtime fear of heights in, what, FIVE MINUTES?

“I know what I said just now feels out of character,” Amano-kun explains. “But if I want to establish that I’m trustworthy to be believed after such a bold statement, then I have to stop cowering about a roller coaster.” He then smiles cheerfully. “Can we go?”

“Okay,” I say, finally, smiling back. It’s like a dream come true. Finally, I will get to go with Amano-kun on the roller coaster.

After a brief walk, we leave Tsubaki-san in the cafe and then go to the roller coaster, where I feel like I’ve won a war when I hand the couple ticket to the woman at the turnstile. As the ride starts, I glance back to the second row. For some reason, AKISE IS STILL THERE, with the look of someone who doesn’t care about anything right now.

“What is it, Shinonome-san?” Amano-kun asks. Then he follows my eyes. “Ah.” He then turns back to the front, and as the cart starts inclining upwards in the rise, grips my hand tightly.

“Amano-kun?” He doesn’t respond, pulling his beanie off his head and sitting on top of it, probably to protect it from being yanked off by the wind. I can feel the heat rushing to my face as my skin takes notice of his fingers.

Warm. So warm.

Not cold.

That coldness at the shrine must have been something of my mind. Probably, I was scared at the sudden change in attitude he undertook.

Suddenly, I realize something.

Two days ago, I killed two people. And now, I’m having fun with my friend and crush, like nothing happened.

This Survival Game is really doing something to me. The thought sends chills down my spine.

Amano-kun… come to think of it, where did he get the information that I usually don’t talk to boys? If he’d asked around, someone would have already leaked that to me. Just how did he get this information?

And that button I found at home… it looks like one of his jacket buttons. Am I just being paranoid, or does this actually mean something?

Ever since the Survival Game started, I don’t have a way of knowing if I’ll live to see the next day, and I don’t know what else might be changing. I don’t know if I’ll ever return to the mindless days of going to school, secretly pining from my seat near the window, writing in my diary and dreaming of being an investigative reporter.

But what I’m sure of is, I’ll always choose the safety of my friends over my own, no matter the situation.

They’re what keep me grounded, after all.

Chapter Text

5/12, Amano Residence

“Tsubasa-san, are you sure this is a good idea?” Tsubaki-san whispers uneasily from where we’re hiding. “We don’t want to cause her the wrong impression.”

“We’ll be fine!” I reply. “I’m pretty sure Amano-san will like us. From what I know, she’s a great mom to Amano-kun, so she’ll like us a lot if we cause a good impression.”

“Yes, but hiding won’t cause a very good impression!” She exclaims in a hushed voice. Just as she says that, though, we hear the creak of the door.

Amano Rea, the current owner of the house, enters led by her son. She takes a few looks around, just barely missing our hiding spot, and goes into the kitchen.

“Hmmm, this is smelling good!” She exclaims. “Yukkii-kun, did you learn after me in the end?”

“Uh—wait, Mom!” It’s too late, though, as she sees the curry cooking and is confused. “Huh? Did you leave it cooking here, or… is someone else in the house right now?” I can see her confused expression turn into a smirk. “Is your girlfriend over, eh?”

“What— NO, Mom! If I had a girlfriend I’d tell you!” Amano-kun clearly is panicking. “I… I left it cooking and went to get you at the station!”

“Doubtfully. This curry is well-done and not burning. Which means…” and she chuckles, “someone else did the curry!” Amano-san looks around. “Whoever did the curry, step here! I, Amano Rea, would like to give some advice.”

I take a deep breath and step out of hiding, followed by a terrified Tsubaki-san. “It’s me, Amano-san,” I say. “If you want to know why I’m here, Amano-kun was having some trouble with homework.” The lie comes so easily I’m actually surprised.

“And the other young lady?”

“Friend of ours at school. Transferred recently.” I gently push Tsubaki-san from behind me. “This is Kasugano Tsubaki-san, and I’m Shinonome Tsubasa. Nice to meet you, Amano-san.”

Amano-san smiles delightfully. “So you’re the infamous Shinonome-san!” She exclaims. “Yukkii-kun here talks a lot about you, you know…”

“MOM!” Amano-kun shrieks, visibly embarrassed. “Stop saying these things! This is embarrassing!”

“Oh, why so?” She pretends not to hear him and smiles. “Please, come on in. Let’s see if this curry tastes as good as it smells.”

“Shinonome-san, watch out!” Amano-kun whispers as we go to the table. “Mom is a very good cook, so she’s very strict with others’ cooking!”

“I know,” I say cryptically. “Don’t worry, she’ll like it.”

Tsubaki-san helps Amano-kun and Amano-san set the table while I give the curry and rice the finishing touches. Finally, I set the pans on the table with a satisfying *thump*.

“Here,” I say, ladling out curry and rice in the four plates. “Hope you all like it!”

Amano-san smiles and patiently waits until I sit down. “Thanks for the food!” She says along with all of us, grabs the spoon, and dumps a generous portion of curry and rice in her mouth.

Deadly silence as we await her evaluation. Slowly, her eyes light up and she beams.

“This is delicious!” She exclaims. Next to her, Amano-kun breathes a sigh of relief. “You’re an excellent cook, Tsubasa-chan!”

I smile embarrassedly. “Thank you, Amano-san. My parents are always busy with work, so I end up cooking dinner every day for them. They’re very strict with food as well, so…”

“A good cook, polite, and pretty…” Amano-san turns to look at her son with a smile. “Yukkii-kun, you should have told me such a nice girl existed in your class. It surprises me you haven’t done anything yet.”

“EEEEHH?!” Amano-kun blushes so hard he looks like a beet with two dark blue beads sticking out of it. “MOM!”

She chuckles. “Please forgive me,” she says, turning to look at me. “My son is a little hard on his luck these days, so I have to get on with the humor. You know what I mean, right?”

Hard on his luck doesn’t even cover it, Amano-san. You have literally NO IDEA.

“Yes,” I say, smiling back. Right next to me, Tsubaki-san has finished her curry and rice, leaving the plate almost clean. “Tsubasa-san, I want more,” she says.

“Okay,” I reply, ladling more food into her plate. She eats with a large smile on her face, which only increases with every spoonful she downs.

“So, Tsubasa-chan,” Amano-san says, “I heard you transferred in the second year.”

“That’s true,” I say, sitting back down after dumping more food on my own plate. “I moved to Sakurami with my parents in mid-March.”

“For what reason?”

“Dad got a job at the city hall,” I sigh, staring at the ceiling. “Mayor John Bacchus contacted him directly and offered him a position as IT manager with a salary of something like 950.000 yen a month. Dad accepted the offer and we moved in here.”

“The mayor contacted him directly?” Amano-san is surprised. I inhale sharply. Very good, Shinonome Tsubasa. You’re succeeding in the Make Up Complete And Utter Bullshit Out Of Plain Nowhere course with honors. Now do this report to get an A++.

“Yes. My dad is an experienced programmer who was part of the development team for several successful gaming software. For example, he worked at Square Enix and Level-5 as a game developer when he was younger.”

“Really?” Amano-san’s eyes light up. “That’s impressive, Tsubasa-chan! And your mother?”

“Mom…” I pause a moment. I need to come up with something that matches up perfectly with the ‘programmer dad’ profile I built. “She’s a psychologist working in the juvenile department. She’s aiming for a P.h.D in Social Psychology, so sometimes she stays up until midnight studying. Also, she’s a very good cook, when she has time to be in the kitchen. I learned from her,” I explain carefully.

Amano-san smiles. “That’s very nice,” she says. “But don’t you feel lonely, with them coming home so late?”

“I do,” I say bluntly. “But I understand that they’re doing this for me, so it eases my worries. And besides, I like the quiet of just watching some anime alone in the living room with no one to tell me to do my homework—which I’ve already done, by the way,” I add. Amano-san merely nods and looks at Tsubaki-san, as if expecting confirmation, to which another nod is all she receives.

Suddenly there’s a knock on the door. Before we can move, Amano-san stands up and goes to the door. It opens with a creak.

“Oh, hi, Rei-kun!” She exclaims.

“Hi, Mama Rea!” A squeaky boy’s voice who sounds vaguely familiar replies. As Amano-san steps back to allow the visitor in, I see who it is. A boy, between four and seven years old probably, with green eyes and ginger hair covered by a cap that makes his head look like a round sphere. In his hands, he carries two hand puppets, one stylized to look like a man, the other a woman.

“Take your shoes off to come in, Rei-kun,” Amano-san tells the boy.

“Okay!” He says, immediately doing so and dashing through the corridor to catch up to her.

“Who’s this, Mom?” Amano-kun asks, standing up immediately. Amano-san smiles.

“Yukkii-kun, Tsubasa-chan, Tsubaki-chan, meet Rei-kun,” she says. “Rei-kun, meet my son, Amano Yukiteru, and his lady friends, Shinonome Tsubasa and Kasugano Tsubaki.”

“I’m Houjou Reisuke!” The boy exclaims. “Nice to meet you, nii-chan, nee-chan, Tsubaki-neechan!”

“His parents passed away recently, and since one of them worked with me, I was asked to take care of him,” Amano-san explains.

I notice with the corner of my eye that Amano-kun is fidgeting behind his back. Entrapped between his fingers is his Future Diary.

What is he doing with it? It’s not like something’s going to happen.

Suddenly, I hear a sound coming from my pocket, and from the phone in Amano-kun’s hands. 

Static. The future’s changed.

I glance up, alarmed. The future couldn’t possibly change like this, unless…

…unless another Diary Holder just came by.

Wait, wasn’t Fifth a child? Their description matches perfectly with Houjou Reisuke.

Which means…

…we’re literally living with a lion right now.

Probably, Amano-kun must’ve noticed that.

We should tell Tsubaki-san and then make a plan to ensure our safety in the worst-case scenario.

Because, what if Rei-kun—on the case he’s Fifth—made an alliance with some other Diary Holder to spy on us, since apparently Amano-kun has been deemed the most dangerous since he killed Third? He might have formed an alliance either with Seventh, Eighth, Tenth or Eleventh, the other Diary Holders we haven’t identified yet.

We should be careful.

Rei-kun might be a child, but if he’s a Diary Holder, he’s a threat to our lives.

***

For precaution, we’ve left Tsubaki-san in charge of preparing the food—Rei-kun might poison it—while me and Amano-kun stay with him and Amano-san. Right now, he’s acting like a normal child, making a drawing with crayons he carries in his backpack in some paper. After finishing, he cuts it around the edges with a scissor that looks too big for a 5-year-old to be handling.

“Look, Mama Rea!” He exclaims, lifting up the paper to show us his work. Albeit a bit cartoonish, it’s a drawing of me, with a big smile.

“Very good, Rei-kun!” Amano-san exclaims. “Why don’t you show it to Tsubasa-chan?”

“Okay!” He replies, smiling gleefully. Standing up, he dashes in my direction, holding the paper. I notice he didn’t drop the scissors.

Wait—

He trips. I just have the time to yank an unused cushion from the ground and poise it over my chest before he lands on me, scissors and all. Amano-san and Amano-kun gasp in unison.

“Shinonome-san!” Amano-kun exclaims. He’s more distressed than usual, which means he probably guessed this was not an accident.

“Are you okay, Tsubasa-chan?” Amano-san asks. I smile and nod.

“I’m okay,” I say. “The scissors didn’t hurt me. Thankfully this cushion was here!” I hold up the cushion, simultaneously taking notice of the large hole in it. The realization that this same hole would’ve been in my abdomen had not I reacted fast makes me feel sick.

Amano-san smiles, then turns to Rei-kun with an admonishing glare. “Rei-kun, you have to be careful next time! Drop the scissors when you’re walking around, or you might actually hurt someone!”

“Sorry, Mama Rea!” He exclaims. Then he turns and looks apologetically at me. “Sorry, nee-chan!”

“It’s okay, Rei-kun,” I say, smiling, but inside I’m terrified.

He actually tried to kill me. This wasn’t an accident.

Which means… he might target Amano-kun or Tsubaki-san next. The thought sends a chill down my spine, and I instinctively reach for my left leg. But, this time, the scissors aren’t there.

Of course, I remember. I left them upstairs.

I have to get them back.

As I run upstairs, my mind wanders. Amano-kun’s mother is a nice lady, confirming what I managed to gather from the few people in the school who socialize with him and from Kousaka in exchange for going with him to the movies to watch that horrible slasher movie. But, on the other hand, she’s got… QUITE the humor there. I honestly can’t imagine how poor Amano-kun’s put up with that for years.

I finally find the scissors, but this time, I hide them stretched in a line across the inside of my bra. In my stocking, they’ll be too visible and much easier to get.

If Rei-kun attacks again, I’ll be ready now.

***

When I go back down, dinner is being served. It consists of leftover curry and rice and a salad prepared by Rei-kun. After a quick thanking for the food, we promptly dig in, but right before Amano-kun can bite into a tomato, Tsubaki-san, having noticed something off about her own salad, stops his fork mid-air.

“What is it?” He asks.

“Something’s weird about the tomatoes. They’re heavier than when I washed them.” She stands up, and, without a word, plucks the plates of salad from us. “I’m going to throw these away,” she says, and then walks off.

Amano-san looks confused. She eats her entire salad, though.

Suddenly my phone buzzes. I run to the bathroom to look at it.

It says:

5/12

Key events of the day:

1. Woke up.
2. Ate breakfast with Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san.
3. Tidied the house for when Amano-kun’s mom arrived.
4. Got a culinary approval from Amano-kun’s mom.
5. Made up a whole story about my (fictional) parents and how I ended up in Sakurami.
6. Houjou Reisuke arrived at the house.
7. Rei-kun attempted to stab me with scissors. Thankfully I reached for the cushion in time.
8. Tsubaki-san threw away our salads suspecting foul play.
9. Tsubaki-san went to take a bath. Rei-kun asked to join her.
10. Power went out in the house. Heard Tsubaki-san screaming in the washroom, then deadly silence.
11. Rei-kun got a package through the mail that liberated some sort of gas.
12. Me and Amano-kun died because of the gas.

-- DEAD END --

A Dead End!

I nearly choke on my own breathing but manage to stay calm. My diary just told me Rei-kun killed the three of us with poison gas and—most likely—electrocution. So, I should try to make the power go out so that he cannot use whatever he plans to use to electrocute Tsubaki-san in the bath room.

Live wires. Those are the most dangerous. The washing machine, which is near the washroom, has live wires. Rei-kun is probably knowledgeable enough to figure that out. We need to switch off the power at the right moment, or Tsubaki-san will die.

Just as I leave the bathroom, I see Tsubaki-san—who’s apparently returned to the dinner room—stand up. “I’m going to take a bath,” she says.

“Tsubaki-neechan, can I join you?” Rei-kun asks innocently. She smiles and nods.

As they walk to the bath, I quietly send a message to Amano-kun.

I’m talking like this bc your mom can’t hear us. Plz turn off the power on my mark bc my diary said Rei-kun will electrocute Tsubaki-san w/ live wires.

I can see he’s got the message, because he nods. Standing up with a muttered excuse that he’s going to the bathroom, he slips out of the dining room.

Quickly I follow, walking to the washroom and waiting at the door. I see Tsubaki-san inside the tub, and Rei-kun walking to stand behind her her, holding something behind his back. Live wires. I knew it.

I pull my phone out and send a message:

NOW!

The breaker goes off and the power’s out. Immediately I yank at the door, making it fly open. Rei-kun runs out, and I fail to catch him.

“Tsubaki-san!” I stumble inside, seeing her still in the tub. “Are you okay?”

She looks at me. “Tsubasa-san,” she says. “Yes, I am fine. Why is the power out?”

I explain how my diary alerted to her electrocution, albeit vaguely, and how Amano-kun and I tripped the breaker to make the power go out. Finally I apologize for my failure to catch Rei-kun.

“It’s okay, Tsubasa-san,” Tsubaki-san says, smiling faintly. “I was to blame for not noticing. It was probably noticed by Rei-kun that I have poor eyesight…” and she suddenly trails off, her eyes widening in realization. “He said his name was Houjou Reisuke, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Two members of the Omekata cult who were reported missing during the mass arrest… Their names were Houjou Shinji and Houjou Yayoi. And I was aware they had a child… Could it be?” She looks at me in alarm.

“If they died, probably they did by Second’s hand,” I say. “But Amano-kun and the two of us were there, too. And if he’s actively playing the game, we’re targets.”

“We will have to be careful. The Diary Holder we’re dealing with is a highly intelligent five-year-old who managed to infiltrate himself here. We will have to do something about him, but without alerting Amano Rea.”

I think for a moment, then a plan comes up. “I have an idea,” I say. “Though I think Amano-kun might not like it very much.”

“Shouldn’t we call Fourth?” Tsubaki-san asks. “He is a police officer and a member of our alliance. He could surround the house to prevent Rei-kun from fleeing.”

“No, it’s too dangerous,” I retort quickly. “Amano-san might be alerted. We should take care of him here.”

As I say that I hear steps behind me. “Shinonome-san, Tsubaki-san, are you two okay?” Amano-kun asks, without entering the washroom.

“Yes,” I reply. “Amano-kun, we have to do something about Rei-kun right here. I have an idea, but I don’t think you will like how we do it.”

“How?”

“Knock out your mom and then we surround him inside the house before the mailman arrives. My diary said that he will receive a package that’ll fill up the house with poison gas.”

“Knock out Mom?” His eyes widen. “Why?”

“Amano-kun, do you want her seeing us conspiring to take out a five-year-old kid?”

Take out. Not murder.

It’s for our safety.

Amano-kun finally nods. “Okay then. I’ll handle Mom, then you two do something about Rei-kun.”

“We’ll have to find where his diary is first,” Tsubaki-san points out. “Where do you think he could’ve hid it?”

I pause, and think for a moment. Rei-kun, being remarkably gifted for a child his age, must’ve hid it somewhere we wouldn’t believe him to be capable to, like, perhaps, somewhere high up.

Or something so stupidly fictional we wouldn’t think he’d do that.

“He mailed it to himself,” I gasp. “That same package with the poison trap… I think it contains his diary.”

“Why so?”

“To prevent his diary from being intercepted. He probably did some trick with the package to ensure that if someone else other than him opened it, it would release poison gas. My diary said he will release the poison gas on purpose to suffocate everyone in the house.”

“Even Mom?!” Amano-kun is livid. “We have to do something!”

“How?” Tsubaki-san asks. “We don’t know when the mailman will arrive with the package.”

“It might be soon,” I suggest. “We have to do things NOW. Amano-kun, you take care of the mom problem. Tsubaki-san, hide somewhere because Rei-kun might target you again. As for me…” I take a deep breath. “I do the dirty work.”

***

As I wait for Amano-kun’s signal of ‘lights out’ so we can begin the chase, I go over the plan again. It’s startlingly simple.

First, Amano-kun will take his mother out of the house, under some excuse. Then, at the garden, he’ll knock her out with chloroform and leave her in someplace hidden with Tsubaki-san. Once this is done, he’ll message me with the code ‘lights out’, signaling the next step of the plan.

Then, after we’ve checked that Rei-kun won’t find them, the both of us will lock up the house, securing the Fifth Diary Holder within the house. We’ll chase him until we can get him, and when the parcel arrives, I will receive it, then skewer it through with my scissors, ensuring Rei-kun’s defeat with no blood spilled.

My phone buzzes.

Lights out.

I smile.

Okay, Houjou Reisuke.

Let the chase begin.

Amano-kun enters the house again, locking the door behind him from outside so that Rei-kun will not be able to open it if he tries to flee. I ensure all of the windows are sealed shut with duct tape.

When Rei-kun comes out of the bathroom, we’re ready.

“Hi, nii-chan, nee-chan!” He exclaims. “Where’s Mama Rea and Tsubaki-neechan?”

“They’re out on a shopping trip,” Amano-kun replies. “We’re staying here babysitting you until then.”

“Okay!” He replies, then turning around and starting a small chat between his hand puppets in a hushed voice we can’t hear. I remember the scissors I’ve been keeping hidden, and with that the deaths at the cult come back. The grunt of the old man when he fell, the mute gasp of the guy with the axe when he was reaved through with the twin blades.

But they have no voice in my thoughts right now. I shake the memories off with a shake of my head, recalling the plan we’ve done. To ensure our survival, we must resort to this.

The bell rings. Rei-kun runs to the door, but Amano-kun gets there first. The door flies open, and the mailman hands the parcel.

Amano-kun takes it—and opens it. Gas flies out, and in seconds, he’s down on the ground.

“AMANO-KUN!” I shriek.

This wasn’t part of the plan. What the hell was he thinking? I speed in his direction, picking him up from the ground as Rei-kun laughs.

“Good plan you did!” He exclaims, grinning. “Too bad you opened it the wrong way!” He pulls out the diary—a coloring book with ‘Hyper Vision Diary’ written on the cover. “Too bad!”

I drag Amano-kun into the bathroom and shut the door, finally letting myself breathe. For now, we’re safe, but this gas is poisonous. If we don’t get an antidote, Amano-kun will… die.

He knew that. I told him. So WHY?

WHY?!

“Amano-kun, what were you thinking?!” I shout at him, having finally lost control over myself. “The plan was to give me the package so I could destroy the diary! Why did you…?!”

He looks up, his pale face contorted in a weak smile. “I wanted to do something to help you, Shinonome-san…” he says faintly. “I didn’t want to stand there like a wet paper towel while you risked your neck to protect me and Tsubaki-san… I want to protect you, not just be protected. So that’s why…” He begins to cough, and when I open the toilet cover, he vomits into it. The poison is clearly taking effect.

“Hey, nee-chan!” Rei-kun’s voice calls from outside. “Let’s play a game of hide-and-seek!”

I put my ear to the door, not responding. He continues:

“I have the antidote with me. If you can find and catch me, you win. If you die because of the poison gas, I win. But just remember that if you don’t go, nii-chan will die!” He chuckles in a way completely unbefitting a kid his age. “Let’s play, nee-chan!”

I’m about to risk it and open the door, but Amano-kun grabs my wrist with what little strength he has. “Don’t,” he pleads. “You’ll die too.”

I smile. “I can hold my breathing just fine, Amano-kun,” I tell him. “And besides, I’m good at hide-and-tag. I can find him soon enough.”

As he doesn’t look convinced, I kneel to look at him on the eye. “I’ll be okay, Amano-kun,” I whisper. “Remember when I said I always keep my promises? Well, I promise you that I’ll come back with the antidote. If I don’t, then I can no longer be called human.”

“If you don’t come back,” his voice is reduced to a barely intelligible scratch, “I’ll snap my diary in half and go join you. I’m tired of this Survival Game.”

Normally I would have blushed at such a double-meaning statement, but right now I’m too angry, too tense, too hurt to blush. “Okay. I’ll be back soon.” I stand up, grab my handkerchief from my pocket, press it to my face, and open the door.

Shutting it behind me and doing my best to hold my breathing, I scan my surroundings. No sign of Rei-kun. He might be upstairs, but first I have to look around here.

Running to the windows, I find them just as sealed with duct tape as I remember sealing them. I try to force them open, to no avail. Right. This was the entire point.

I run through the kitchen, the living room, the entire ground floor, and he’s not anywhere. Realizing he’s upstairs, I pull my scissors from their hiding place, praying they’re just as sharp as they were that day on the cult.

As I start climbing the stairs I hear a voice.

“You found me!”

Rei-kun is there, sitting on top of a table, smiling. In his right hand, along with one of the puppets, is a syringe containing what I deduce is the antidote for the poison.

“You’re surrounded, Rei-kun,” I say slowly. “You can’t move from where you are.”

“True,” he says. “I really can’t go anywhere.”

Suddenly I feel something at my feet. I look down. Water is running down the stairs.

“Hey, nee-chan,” he says, pulling out an electric lamp, “what happens if I do… this?”

I realize what he’s doing all of a sudden. My leg muscles tense when he throws the lamp on the stairway.

“THUNDER!” He screams.

I jump for the rail just as an enormous electric current runs through the water. My fingers and toes grasp the wood on the rail, making me look like a black cat perched on a wall.

“I… missed?” For a fleeting second, Rei-kun actually acts like a five-year-old when he stares, disappointed, at the stairway. But as he does, I throw myself at him directly up, pinning him to the wall.

“It’s over, Rei-kun,” I say. “I win.”

He smiles giddily. “Well then,” he says. “Here’s the antidote.”

I take the antidote from him and put it in the place where I kept my scissors.

“I lost,” he whispers suddenly, looking down. “I can’t become a Super Elite now… I thought that I could become someone who didn’t need the adults around, like I didn’t need my parents…”

I look at him. “That’s right. Your parents… they were a part of the Omekata cult, right?”

He nods. “That house… it was boring. My parents never played with me. But here I could play all I wanted, with my nii-chan, Mama Rea, you and Tsubaki-neechan!” He smiles sadly. “Or at least… I thought I could.”

I see his diary lying on the floor next to him. An idea comes to mind.

“Hey, Rei-kun,” I say slowly, “it doesn’t have to end like this. We could be allies in this game, and win.

“I understand you,” I continue. “I never had any parents to speak of. I’ve grown up alone and living for myself. Until I met Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san,” I say, smiling. “They gave me something to hold on to. They’re not just my friends. They’re my own little family.

“I know who killed your parents,” I tell him. “If you become my ally, I can lead you to her.”

“Really?” His face lights up, just a little bit. I nod, still smiling, as I slowly pull him into a hug. “M-hm,” I say. “Her name is Gasai Yuno. She’s the Second Diary Holder. Pink hair, baby pink eyes, and pigtails. Recognizable anywhere.”

The tip of my scissors, blindly guided, finally finds the cover of the Hyper Vision Diary. Still in a soothing voice, I continue:

“We can win this together. It’ll all be okay. When this ends, you’ll have a lot of people to play with. You and the puppets will always find fun, because in the world I’m fighting for is a world where everything is fun and games.”

“I’d like to see that world, nee-chan,” Rei-kun whispers into my chest. “We’ll be able to play forever there, right?”

“Yes, of course,” I say, slowly raising my arm for the final thrust. “Everything will be okay. Now, you can sleep, safe and sound. Nee-chan will protect you from those mean Diary Holders.”

He looks up and smiles. “Yup!” He exclaims, burying his face into my shoulder again. “We’ll be one happy family, who plays together forever!”

I drive the tip of the scissors down. They silently skewer through the Hyper Vision Diary, leaving a thin, blade-shaped hole.

“We’ll be okay,” I whisper soothingly. “You can sleep now. When you wake up, everything will be okay. Everything will be happy, for me and for you.”

He nods and then begins to doze off. But just as he’s about to fall asleep, he stirs.

He must’ve begun to disappear.

“Nee-chan?” He gasps. “I’m…” He sees the skewered diary. “NEE-CHAN!” He shrieks as he begins to vanish. Just before he does, I raise my scissors again and slash. A spurt of his blood dirties the skewered diary.

In the next second, Houjou Reisuke is gone.

I stand up and glance around. Amano-kun is still half-unconscious in the bathroom. Tsubaki-san and Amano-san are there in the garden.

Carefully, I reach for the hidden pocket in my shirt and pull out a small vial. Within it are hairs of a striking violet.

Okay, now for the next step of my plan.

Putting on the rubber gloves I bought yesterday for emergencies such as this occasion, I pull out the hairs from inside the vial and plant them in places that will look natural to police investigators. I also plant handprints to complete it.

All that’s left is to leave with Amano-kun and Tsubaki-san and contact Fourth to say Ninth infiltrated the house and a child was abducted. The blood and diary are already evidence. Carefully I erase the ‘Hyper Vision Diary’ title, which apparently was written with a pencil.

I walk down the stairs in absolute silence, then, go to Amano-kun and inject the antidote into his bloodstream.

Then, I raise a hammer over my head and hit myself in the back of the neck.

I’m out like a light.

***

“Shinonome-san! Shinonome-san, wake up!”

I open my eyes. Amano-kun, who appears to have fully recovered, and Tsubaki-san are both kneeling next to me, concern in their eyes.

“Thank goodness, you’re awake!” Tsubaki-san exclaims, tears in her eyes. “We heard the sound of something crashing and we thought… we thought…” Her voice is cut off by shuddering breaths as she struggles not to cry.

I smile at her. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” As I say this, I reach for the back of my neck. It’s throbbing. “Ow…”

“Who hit you?” Amano-kun asks.

I inhale sharply. Okay. Now’s the time. “It… it was Ninth,” I gasp.

“Ninth?!” Amano-kun’s eyes widen. “How did she…?”

“She ran inside through the unlocked door,” I tell them. “She hit me… and she took Rei-kun…”

“What?!” Tsubaki-san gasps. “How does she dare! Not satisfied with bombing your school, she invaded the house and nearly killed you!” Her eyes burn with a white-hot anger. “If she puts her feet back here again, I, Kasugano Tsubaki, will go and send her to meet with her victims myself!”

“Hey, hey, easy, Tsubaki-san,” Amano-kun hurriedly calms her down. “We gotta call Kurusu-san and tell him what happened. You said Ninth took Rei-kun, right?”

“Yes…” I inhale sharply. “Amano-kun, your mom’s going to wake up at any moment. We can’t stay here anymore. We have to move.”

“To where?” Amano-kun is confused. “There’s nowhere we can go that I think of.”

Deadly silence. True. I didn’t plan for this scenario.

Suddenly Tsubaki-san speaks up again.

“I know one place,” she says, “but I’m not 100% sure it’s a good idea. And I didn’t want to go back to that place so soon.”

“Anywhere is better than here,” I say. “Where?”

She takes a deep breath. “The shrine of the Omekata cult.”