"Good m," a familiar silver-haired girl sat at the edge of her seat, her legs crossed elegantly as she peered at me with an almost pitiful expression. The soft glow of the library's overhead mps cast a gentle shimmer over her hair, making it look like strands of moonlight woven together. She rested her on her palm, studyih a quiet amusement. "Did you get a good sleep?"

  I blinked groggily, my vision still adjusting as I rubbed my eyes. My limbs felt strangely heavy, as if I had been asleep for far too long. Slowly, I straightened up, taking in my surroundings.

  The library stretched out around me in an eerie sileall wooden bookshelves loomed over rows of desks, their shelves packed tightly with books of all kinds. Some aged and dust-covered, others pristine and freshly bound. The st of ink, part, and faint traces of coffee lingered in the air. A few students sat scattered across the room, absorbed in their own worlds. Some were hunched over their homework, scribbling furiously into their notebooks, while others were lost in fi, flipping through the pages with quiet tration. The occasional rustle of paper and the distant creak of a chair were the only sounds that disturbed the hush.

  "I was w when I’d meet you again." The girl’s voice brought my attention back to her. I bli her outfit, frilly, bright, and pletely out of pce for a library. A magical girl cospy, plete with a pastel ribboone accessories, and a frilled short skirt that seemed a little too breezy for the quiet, schorly atmosphere. She followed my gaze a out a small chuckle, as if she’d already anticipated my rea. "Ah, I was attending a iket just now," she expined casually, twirling a strand of silver hair between her fingers.

  "It looks good on you," I muttered, suppressing a yawn as I leaned against the wooden desk, still feeling the remnants of sleep ging to my thoughts.

  She beamed at the pliment, her eyes twinkling. "Thanks, Mikan."

  "So… what is it now, Furukawa Shiro?" I asked, my voice carrying a sluggish edge as I rubbed my temples. "Why am I here?"

  Furukawa leaned back slightly, her silver hair catg the dim light of the library, giving it an almost ethereal glow. She tapped a slender finger against her cheek, a knowing smile pying at her lips.

  "Straight to the point, huh?" she mused, tilting her head slightly. "Not even a 'how have you been' or 'it's o see you'?" Her voice had a teasing lilt to it, but beh it, there was something else, something unreadable.

  I sighed, gng around at the silent figures in the library. Despite the presence of so many people, the atmosphere felt strangely... detached. It was as if they were just background heir as repeating in a dull cycle, turning pages, scribbling notes, staring bnkly at their books. No one looked up. No oed to our versation. It was uling.

  Furukawa, oher hand, was vivid. Too vivid. Her outfit, her expression, her presehey stood out like color in a grayscale painting.

  I frowned. "Something feels off," I muttered, shifting in my seat. The wooden chair creaked beh me. "This pce... it doesn't feel real."

  Shiro let out a small hum of amusement. "Sharp as always, Mikan."

  She leaned forward, resting her elbows oable, and csped her hands together. "You're here because I wao see you," she said simply, her eyes never leaving mine.

  Something about the way she said it made my skin prickle.

  "...And?" I pressed, my fingers unsciously gripping the edge of the table.

  Furukawa's smile widened ever so slightly. "And because you have questions, don't you?"

  The flickering library lights cast long shadows behind her, stretg unnaturally across the polished wooden floor. I swallowed, the air suddenly feeling heavier.

  Of course, I had questions. Too many of them. But the biggest one was—

  "Did you kill me to seo that world?" I asked quietly, my voice barely above a whisper, as if saying it any louder would shatter the fragile reality around us. The weight of my own words pressed down on my chest, making it harder to breathe. The flickering light overhead buzzed faintly, casting uneven shadows that seemed to dance around Furukawa's unmoving form. Her eyes, sharp and unwavering, held an uling glint, as though she had been expeg this question all along.

  Furukawa's eyes gleamed. "Does it matter?"

  I immediately grabbed her cheek, my firembling slightly as I leaned in, close enough that I could feel the warmth of her breath against my skin. The dim library lights flickered above us, casting shifting shadows across her face. "Please, names," I murmured, my voice thick with desperation. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, my grip tightening ever so slightly. "Do I... still exist... oh?"

  We were so close that I could feel our noses brush against each other, the faint warmth of her breath ghosting over my skin. The dim library lights flickered above us, casting shifting shadows that danced across her face, highlighting the sharp glint in her eyes. Time felt suspended in that moment, the space between us charged with something unspoken, something heavy.

  Furukawa sighed, a soft, almned exhale that tickled my skin. I could feel the warmth of her breath lingering in the space between us, a moment of hesitation stretched thin. Then, with a quiet certainty, she leaned forward. The world around us seemed to slow as her lips met mihe sensation startlingly real amidst the eerie uy of the library. The st of old part and faint perfume mixed in the air, and for a fleeting moment, all of my questions, my doubts, my fears, vanished.

  "h-wha?!" I stammered, my face growing hot as I jerked back slightly, my grip on her cheek loosening. The warmth of her breath still lingered on my skin, a ghost of the moment that had just passed. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, and I struggled to steady my thoughts.

  Furukawa's smile didn't waver. If anything, it deepened, her gaze flickering with something both knowing and unreadable. She tilted her head slightly, silver strands of hair slipping over her shoulder as she studied my rea.

  "I will tell you," she said softly, her voice carrying an almost teasing lilt, "but not now. You were still in the middle of something, weren't you?"

  The weight of her words pressed against me, mingling with the lingeriion of her lips, the surreal atmosphere of the library folding around us like a dream I couldn't quite grasp. I swallowed, my fingers unsciously curling against the smooth surface of the table, grounding myself. What did she mean by 'in the middle of something'? And why did it feel like I was fetting something important?

  "ht. Vio," I said, a creeping sense of unease washing over me. My brows furrowed as I tried to grasp at the fading threads of my memory, like trying to hold onto a dream slipping through my fingers. "Wait, why did I almost fet that?" My voice wavered slightly, my mind rag. It felt as though something, or someone had he thought aushing it into the recesses of my sciousness.

  "How many luminous gems do you think you collected?" Furukawa asked, her voice lilting with curiosity as she suddenly ged the subject.

  "42," I answered without hesitation, my tone firm. "I'll never fet how many of those things I have." Even so, I khere were still plenty I hadn’t mao collect while battling those NONO creatures atop the shrine.

  Furukawa leaned forward, pg her hands firmly on the wooden table. A soft, almost imperceptible shimmer rippled through the air before tless luminous gems suddenly materialized between us. The radiant stones reflected the dim library lights, casting scattered glimmers across the surface. "I gathered all the ones you missed," she said with a pyful smile. "Now you have enough facha roll, so... what do you say?"