1st Anniversary Short Story: “The Afterdays”

Written by Gakuto Mikumo
Illustrated by Shirasu Akane

　A stunningly beautiful girl arrived at the station plaza where we'd agreed to meet.
The outdated glasses and hat she wore did little to conceal her lovely features.
It was Aruka Arisaka, second year student on the Arts course at Kousei Academy and member of the idol group Merveilleux.

"Thanks for waiting. Is everyone here?"

Aruka asked. Her blasé attitude not at all becoming of someone who'd just arrived late.
My classmate Sota Kodaki was quick to make his feelings known.

"Where've you been, Aruka? The least you could do is show up on time. I swear, you Arts course students are all the same..."
"Oh? Well, I suppose you won't be wanting any of this cake I brought for everyone then."
"We're delighted to see you, Aruka! Allow me to take your things for you!"
"Hmm. Better."

After Sota swiftly changed his tune, Aruka thrust an elegant, expensive-looking cake box into his hands before turning to face the rest of us.
Including me and Sota, six of us had been waiting for Aruka to arrive.
Though our school years and courses varied, all of us were members of Kousei Academy's unofficial guild, the Student Support Services (or SSS for short).

"Don't pay Sota any mind. I only just got here myself."
"Thanks, Noa. And don't worry, I won't."

Aruka replied with a smile.

"Hey, don't let her off so easy. She kept a busy guy like me waiting for a whole fifteen minutes. Isn't that right, Alt?"

Taiga Tsukiyama looked to his friend, the alternate president of the SSS, for agreement.
'Alt', as he was called, gave a small nod and addressed Aruka in a somber tone.

"Taiga's been excited to see everyone since early this morning."
"Wha—?! Have not! That's not what I was saying at all!"
"Were you looking forward to seeing me too, Alt?"
"Of course."
"I see..."

Ignoring Taiga entirely, Aruka gave a gratified smile. It was rare for the always cool and aloof girl to show her happiness so clearly.

"We should get going, Alt. We'll be late for our reservation if we don't hurry."

Alt simply nodded in response to Taki, and we all set off.
Our destination was a karaoke box near the station.
We usually gathered in the Student Support Services room, but with the end-of-term exams imminent, the room was occupied this week.
We'd decided to book a karaoke room for a study session today instead.

"By the way, are you feeling okay now, Alt?"
"More or less,"

Alt replied to Aruka.

A month had passed since the invasion of the Desires, those monsters that threatened to consume our world, had come to an end.
Alt had spent nearly all of that time in a hospital bed.
The destruction of his Desire had taken a heavy toll on his physical body when he returned from the Glitch to the real world.

He'd only been able to return to school a few days ago.
According to Alt, the exams were now a bigger concern than his condition.
Since they were scheduled just after his discharge from hospital, he'd barely had a chance to prepare.

"Don't worry. That's why we're all here today."

I said cheerfully, hoping to encourage him.

It would have come as little surprise had Alt lost his memories of the time he spent with us when his Desire was erased.
Yet, he remembered each one of us.
I was so happy when I realized that. Now, I wanted to do everything I could to help him.
I was sure everyone in the SSS felt the same.

"Yeah, exactly. Besides, we've got a national-level academic genius like Taki here to supervise. Our school's tests should be a piece of cake."
"Sota... I appreciate the confidence, but I'm in a different year and studying different subjects to the rest of you, remember. Don't expect too much."
"Wait, what?"

Sota's expression stiffened as Taki calmly pointed out the facts.

"What's got you so shaken, Sota?"

I pointed out that we were here to help out Alt today to begin with.

"Well, it's just that I was kinda hoping to get some help with the exams myself... I'm in serious danger of failing this year."
"If you have to repeat the year, we might end up in the same class."

For some reason, Ema, a year below the rest of us, wore a genuine smile as she pointed this out to Sota.
Sota himself looked far less excited by the prospect.

"Hey, don't even joke about that. It sure won't be funny if it comes true."
"Bahaha! Man, I'm glad you can joke around with us like this now, Ema."
"I didn't mean it is a joke... I really think it'd be nice if we were in the same class together."

Ema muttered with embarrassment after Taiga burst into laughter.
It was nice of her, Sota said, but he'd rather it didn't come to that.

The banter continued to bounce back and forth, and before long, we arrived at the karaoke box.
We'd booked a larger room with ample space for the seven of us. Since it was the kind that allowed you to bring your own food and drink, we'd picked up a few refreshments on the way.

"This is the new cake from Little Village, isn't it?"

Ema said as she deftly portioned out the expensive-looking cake Aruka had brought.
Little Village was a cafe where Ema worked part-time, hence why she was quick to recognize the confection.

"Yep. Minami said it was really nice, so I thought I'd try it."
"It is! They're almost always sold out by evening. I heard there's been a real buzz around them on Johari."
"Wow, that is good. It even smells fancy."

Sota, the first to take a bite, sounded impressed.
Aruka turned to look at him.

"I'll have an iced tea, Sota."
"What are you telling me for? There's a vending machine out in the lobby."
"Straight. No milk or sugar."
"You want me to go buy you one?!"

Although grumbling all the while, Sota got up to go and buy the drink Aruka wanted.
Once he was gone, she swiftly slid into the seat he'd been occupying.
It seemed that her desire for iced tea had been a ruse to allow her to steal his spot.
The reason was that Sota had been sitting right next to Alt. At school, Aruka and Alt attended different classes. She was obviously keen not to miss out on this chance to study with him.

"Have you managed to study at all for the test, Aruka? I know your idol work's been busy lately,"

I said with wry smile.

"Don't worry about me. The agency's fine with us prioritizing our school work. My seniors have been helping me out too, lending me their notes and past tests and stuff."
"Oh, really?"

I was rather impressed by that.
It seemed that the members of Merveilleux, who in their own way had all stood against the chaos of the Glitches, were banded more tightly together than ever now that the crisis had passed.

"Oof... Way to make me jealous, Aruka,"

Sota muttered woefully, having returned from his shopping trip.

"I don't suppose we could use those past tests too?"
"Nope. We're on different courses."

Mercilessly shot down, Sota groaned in disappointment.
Taiga looked at him with a puzzled frown.

"Forget past tests. Didn't you say you could get a hold of the real thing, Sota? Weren't the Revolution supposed to be selling them?"
"That was when Quint was around. The Revolution isn't some shady dark web thing anymore, it's just a regular forum these days. They won't be any help."
"Oh, so that's why you're on the verge of failing. You can't get your hands on those leaked tests anymore."

Aruka looked at Sota with a pitying gaze.

"I-is not! I'll have you know I've never bought leaked tests in my life!"
"Really now?"
"Really! They were way too pricy!"
"Oh..."

While Sota was obviously convinced that he was making a good case for himself, the rest of us let out a collective sigh. It was certainly just like him to be motivated more by financial concerns than the likes of ethics or justice.

"Well, once the Glitches disappeared, the Revolution's mission was fulfilled. That goes for the Security Bureau too, right, Noa?"

I nodded in response to Taki's query.

"Apparently, Chief Kurue intends to hand over the running of Johari to a private company and dissolve the Security Bureau."
"I see. I suppose it was highly unusual for a system of that scale to be managed by a student venture, even if it was an industry collaboration. Although looking back now, it's clear that MAYA and the others had a hand in operating it..."

Taki's expression darkened slightly as he murmured.
The cross-reality network service, Johari...
This massive system went far beyond the scope of social media, encompassing even financial and infrastructure services.
It was the genius of the programmer Kurue Kageaki and his Desire's intervention in the real world that allowed Johari to grow so powerful.
But his Desire had been erased.
There was no longer any good reason for Johari's management to fall to the Security Bureau alone. That had to be why Chief Kurue had chosen to dissolve it. Like the Revolution, founded to oppose the Security Bureau and now a mere internet forum, Johari would become nothing more than a social media platform.

"So, the Security Bureau just won't exist anymore?"
"Right. It's in the process of being handed over to a private company now. It seems like Chief Kurue's planning to start up a new service next."
"Huh... Well, I'm cool with whatever it is, as long as it doesn't nearly wipe out humanity again."
"Ahaha... I don't think we need to worry about that. Right, Alt?"

As I spoke, I locked eyes with Alt.
The new service Chief Kurue intended to create was named SSS.
He wanted to provide the kind of counseling services we'd offered in the Student Support Services on a global scale.
Perhaps he considered his atonement for what had happened to Yuri.
Alt and I were working with him to make his plan a reality.
But for now, that was just our secret.

"I'm gonna sing."

Having diligently studied up until that point, Aruka suddenly closed her notebook.

"Huh? Aruka?"

I looked at her in surprise.
Unfazed by my bewilderment, she stood and reached for the song selection device.

"I'm bored of studying. Besides, we're at karaoke. I can sing at least one song, can't I?"
"Pfft!"

While the rest of us sat there in disbelief, Taki suddenly laughed.

"Baha! Who just...who just gets up and starts singing in the middle of a study session...?"
"Taki...? Uh, was it really that funny?"

Sota asked while Taki continued to clutch his stomach, his fit of giggles showing no signs of abating.
Taki was always so cool and steady in his demeanor. It was odd seeing him totally lose it over something so silly.

"Oh, if you're going to sing, then we all have to cheer you on! I have some light sticks with me just in case something like this happens..."
"Ema, do you always carry light sticks with you?!"
"Yep! I'm always ready to join in one of those live superhero shows! I need them for practicing my otagei dances too!"

I was taken aback by this new side of the usually serious and reserved Ema.
Taiga, who'd been sitting next to her, suddenly stood up and posed as if holding an electric guitar.

"Heheh... At last, the moment has come...to reveal my sick air guitar skills!"
"Air guitar...? Bfft! Air guitar at karaoke...?"

Hearing that, Taki began to laugh louder than ever.
Sota and I looked at each other, nonplussed by our companions' strange behavior.
Neither Aruka nor Ema nor Taiga were acting like their usual selves. It might have been my imagination, but it looked to me like they all had a slight red glow in their cheeks.

"What's going on here? What's got into you guys?"
"So, this just occurred to me, but...did that cake Aruka brought have alcohol in it?"
"Alcohol?"

I recalled the sophisticated aroma I'd noticed when I was eating my slice.
It isn't unusual to add a dash of alcohol to baked sweets like cakes to give them a distinct aroma. The alcohol evaporates during cooking, so it is usually not a problem.
But alcohol is alcohol, even if it was less than one percent in strength.
It wasn't beyond imagining that it could affect someone who was particularly susceptible to it.

"What, are you saying everyone's drunk? Who gets drunk off a teensy dash of liqueur in a cake?"
"Well, I dunno how else you explain this..."

Sota shook his head in exasperation at Aruka, who was now passionately singing, her exam study completely forgotten.
That was when Alt, who had been quiet until now, got to his feet.

"Alt...!"
"Are you going to talk sense into them?"

Sota and I looked up at him hopefully.
Though he was a man of few words, when Alt did choose to speak up, it was always to guide us in the right direction.
Even if they were tipsy, if Alt gave the word to settle down, Aruka and the others would surely listen. After all, helping Alt was the whole reason we'd gathered here to study today.

But Alt did not put a stop to Aruka's performance.
Instead, he took another microphone and joined her, singing in harmony.

"Now you're singing too, Alt?!"
"And he's harmonizing perfectly!"

Both Sota and I were left speechless by this unexpected turn of events.
Something made Taki burst into laughter again. Taiga strummed his air guitar and Ema danced with her light sticks. Aruka seemed to be having the time of her life, dancing along with the song. It was a performance to remember.

"Somehow, I don't see us getting much studying in, but...never mind. I guess it's fine to cut loose once in a while."
"I guess so. We got to see a new side to everyone too."

Smiling wryly, I agreed with Sota, who looked defeated by the whole thing.

Exam study on our day off. Karaoke with our friends. With Alt by our side, we'd put our lives on the line for these simple, everyday things. Looking at it in that light, even this comical chaos began to feel like something precious and irreplaceable.

"Noa."

After finishing her song, Aruka handed the mic to me. It seemed like she wanted me to go next.
As the intro to the next song began, Alt and I looked at each other and nodded.
I wasn't the most talented singer, and this was hardly the time for it, but...
...Knowing Alt would be beside me, I found myself genuinely wanting to sing.

We would go on living from moment to moment with our changing companions and our changing selves.
Our revolution was far from over.