August 15th, the anniversary of the end of the war. Nearly a week had passed since the night of the full moon on August 8th, the date originally set for the assimilation ritual between Tengen and the Star Plasma Vessel.
At the request of Jujutsu High, Chojuro Zen'in had been dispatched from the Zen'in clan to lead the reconstruction—and incidental renovation—of the school buildings at a frantic pace. Six students had been outfitted with helmets and work clothes to assist. Among them, Naoya Zen'in was useless because his Binding Vow prevented him from holding tools, and Shoko Ieiri was a girl, leaving the rest of the boys to push wheelbarrows loaded with rubble under the watchful eye of a grim-faced "site foreman."
"Seriously, Masamichi Yaga! Physical labor with a ban on cursed energy is pure torture!"
"Consider... it... training...!"
"Haibara, your legs are shaking... Mine are too..."
"Is it really that hard...?"
"We're delicate compared to a muscle-head who does martial arts and weightlifting like you, Suguru Geto!"
As they grumbled and complained while diligently clearing the debris, the "site foreman," Masamichi Yaga, let out a deep sigh and spoke in a strained voice.
"The higher-ups couldn't exactly let it slide that you lot found a loophole in the contract..."
"I get it, but it's still a pain! Anyway, what are Naoya Zen'in and Shoko Ieiri doing? We've been clearing rubble for a week and we only see them at mealtime. Are they slacking?"
"No, those two are painting the exterior walls of the new school building. Naoya Zen'in can at least hold a brush."
"Ugh, that must smell like paint thinner. I'm glad I'm here."
"Hm? Thinner? That means Shoko Ieiri..."
"Fire is strictly prohibited during work hours, so she's forbidden from smoking, obviously."
"Poor thing... I'll bring her some cigars later as a gift."
"I'll chip in for half, Satoru Gojo."
"You two... don't go suggesting criminal activity right in front of your teacher..."
"It's fine, it's fine. If you buy them directly in Cuba, tobacco is legal even at sixteen."
Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto exchanged their usual casual banter with Masamichi Yaga. Suddenly, the sound of hurrying footsteps approached them.
"Everyone! Lunch is ready!"
Wearing an apron and a bandana tied around her head, the "former" Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, made the announcement.
The fact that she was alive and well, when she should have been dead, was the reason Satoru Gojo and the others were being forced into this punitive manual labor. She was the symbol of the "future Yuki Tsukumo desired," a path Toji Fushiguro had subtly guided them toward.
The protection and liquidation of the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai.
That mission had ended in failure with a 50% completion rate, due to none other than Tengen's own intervention: "Grant all of Riko Amanai's wishes."
---
Going back in time one week.
After parting ways with Misato Kuroi, Suguru Geto arrived at the main hall of the Tombs of the Star with Riko Amanai. Gazing up at the sacred tree towering from the depths of the earth, he engaged in one final dialogue with her.
"Well, we're here, Riko-chan."
"This is..."
"Yeah. The base of the country's main barriers, right at the feet of Lord Tengen. The main hall of the Tombs of the Star. See those stairs? Go down them, pass through the gate at the end, and reach the base of that giant tree. Once there, Tengen will protect you until the assimilation. The barrier surrounding the school was breached earlier, but the barrier at the base of that tree is special. They say no one can enter unless invited."
"I see..."
"Now, Riko-chan. If you go any further, you have to go alone. If you choose to go, be careful. Or—you can turn back and go home with Misato Kuroi. I'm sure Satoru Gojo, Naoya Zen'in, and our teacher have finished off the enemies upstairs."
"!? ...What?"
Riko Amanai was bewildered by Suguru Geto's unexpected suggestion. He met her confusion with a soft smile.
"Our homeroom teacher—Masamichi Yaga—can be surprisingly delicate and roundabout despite being a meathead. He called your 'assimilation' a 'liquidation.' I suppose he wanted us to feel the weight of the guilt. In exchange for five hundred years of peace, a girl of only fourteen has to die. But Riko-chan... we are the strongest."
"The strongest...?"
"That's right. Satoru Gojo and I, and Naoya Zen'in. Even Shoko Ieiri, Takuma Ino, and Yu Haibara are fine sorcerers. So... while you and Misato Kuroi were exhausted and fast asleep that night in Okinawa, the rest of us finished talking. No matter what path you choose, no matter what you wish for... even if that choice means we have to fight Lord Tengen himself, we will guarantee your future."
He grinned broadly. It was the smile of a "brat," much like his best friend's.
Faced with that expression—self-centered yet strangely reassuring—Riko Amanai spoke her feelings with a trembling voice.
"I... I was a Star Plasma Vessel from the moment I was born. I was told I was special, different from everyone else... To me, being the special Star Plasma Vessel was just normal. That's why until this very day, I avoided anything dangerous and lived only for this moment. I never went on trips. I never went out to play alone or even rode a train. Because I was...! That's why, when my mom and dad died in that car accident... I was at home, so I was safe. Now, I don't even remember them. I'm not even sad or lonely anymore. ...So, I thought I'd be fine being separated from everyone by the assimilation. I thought no matter how much it hurt or how much my heart broke, someday the pain and loneliness would fade. But—"
Tears overflowed. Her face contorted with emotion.
As Suguru Geto watched her, something wet shimmered in his own eyes. Perhaps he was seeing a reflection of his recent self, swallowing his own suffering while burdened by a mission.
Satoru Gojo related to her brashness; Suguru Geto related to her seriousness. Both of the strongest sorcerers felt a deep sympathy for this small girl.
With heavy tears, she finally voiced her modest, personal wish.
"I still—I still want to be with everyone! I want to go more places with everyone, and see so many more things!"
To that cry from her soul, Suguru Geto's answer was already decided.
"I see. ...Let's go home, Riko-chan."
"Yeah!"
---
"And that brings us to now. I've heard this story from Riko Amanai about ten times already. Don't you have any other material? ...Wait, Riko Amanai, isn't this rice ball way too huge?"
"It got big because I put so many fillings in it! Eat it and stop complaining!"
"It's fine, Satoru Gojo! Food after manual labor is the absolute best!"
"Maybe if it were after work, Yu Haibara, but this is lunch. We still have the afternoon to go, so I'd rather avoid overeating..."
"Well, he says all that, but he's only eating the ones Riko-chan made instead of the ones Misato Kuroi made. It's just Satoru Gojo's way of being shy."
"Satoru Gojo isn't very honest with himself."
"You're the opposite, Suguru Geto. You're too honest. Haven't you been eating nothing but the ones Misato Kuroi made?"
"You sure are something, Mr. Thirty-Year-Old Bangs, Suguru Geto."
"Naoya Zen'in—or should I say, Breast-Worshiping Gundam—shall we step outside and talk?"
The group of punished students continued their banter. They would spend the next month juggling missions with the school's reconstruction, but even that would surely become just another page in the story of their youth.
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