Hajime was floating in the infinite cosmic space, without a purpose. His whole body was numb and paralyzed, but his mind was in a state of absolute awareness: he saw everything, felt everything, and perceived everything.

The amount of information that his senses were transmitting to his brain was so overwhelming that it was impossible for him to process it all. But the silver-haired boy clearly heard a voice speaking to him; it was neither feminine nor masculine, but rather unearthly and impossible for a mere human to comprehend.

It was all too vivid a déjà vu. The only different thing this time was the unearthly voice that spoke to him, which had a hint of disappointment in its tone.

"Weak... pathetic... death will come for you... if you are not ready... you will lose everything..."

*****

Hajime woke up in bed, inside the school's infirmary. His body was aching and more exhausted than ever. Despite this, the boy immediately went on high alert when he saw the glint of a knife descending toward his heart.

"No! [Overwrite]: [physical enhancement]"

In a burst of superhuman speed, the teenager grabbed the wrist of his attacker. With the little strength left in his battered body, Hajime headbutted his enemy's face and used all his weight to throw him to the ground.

"Tsk! You don't even want to die in silence!"

"You!? You're the one with the scythe who kidnapped me!?"

"Shut up, worm!"

Kuro struggled, trying to escape from the grip of the silver-eyed adolescent. As the two fought for dominance, they didn't notice two girls enter the infirmary until one of them spoke.

"So... do you have that kind of relationship, you two? I didn't expect that."

"It'll make things easier, right, Kohaku-chan!"

"Yeah... hehehe!"

The two stopped fighting and shot a hostile glance at the two girls who were teasing them.

Kuro and Hajime snorted as they moved away from each other, but both glared defiantly at each other, as if to say, "this isn't over." Kohaku's strategy to calm them had more or less worked; it had prevented the sight of two boys tearing each other apart in front of her.

"As we told you, Kamijo-san, in the end, we found you... even if it was quite a surprise that you came to our same school." (Kohaku)

"Well, now that you've found me, what happens?! Do you want to kill me?" (Hajime)

"Yes!" (Kuro)

"Try it!" (Hajime)

Kuro and Hajime resumed their glare at each other, like two dogs ready to tear each other apart at the slightest provocation. Cloe laughed a little at the scene, while Kohaku sighed in frustration; as usual, she had to play the adult.

"Enough, you two. Kuro, stop provoking him! Kamijo-san, there's no need to be so pessimistic; we don't want to hurt you!"

The visible anger on the face and tone of the girl with blue eyes sent shivers down the two boys' spines. They both decided to settle their dispute later.

"Okay, here's what we'll do today: we will go back to class and try to stay out of trouble. There's been too much chaos today, even by this school's standards. Kamijo-san, at the end of the lessons, make up an excuse and wait for us at the back of the school." (Kohaku)

"You haven't given me a good reason to listen to you yet. Even if you say you don't want me dead, I can't trust three strangers with unclear intentions!" (Hajime)

"For now, just know this: the three of us have one goal: to destroy the [Black Corps]. And if you want to eliminate Goto, the only way is to cooperate with us. The choice is yours."

Kohaku left the infirmary, followed by Kuro and Cloe. Hajime was left alone, lost in his thoughts.

The boy wasn't stupid; he didn't know how he could get rid of Goto, he had no resources, power, or plans to confront his stepfather.

But even so, was it right for him to rely on strangers? He knew nothing about those three; the only certainty was that they wanted something from him. But Hajime, how far was he willing to go to eliminate Goto once and for all? The depressed face of his mother and Kaori's beaming smile flooded his thoughts like a battering ram.

"(I can't hesitate! That man deserves to die for what he has done to us! If I have to become a criminal to protect Kaori-chan and Mom, then so be it!)"

As he was asked, Hajime made up an excuse to stay out until late.

While the boy anxiously awaited Kohaku and the others, he reflected on his decision. Goto was a cancer, and he would be the scalpel that would cut it out. For the sake of his family, the silver-haired teenager would do everything in his power to eliminate the leader of the [Black Corps].

"I knew you would come... We need to talk about many things, but first I apologize in advance." (Kohaku)

Hajime looked at Cloe and Kohaku with confusion, then his mind realized something was wrong. The boy felt a strong blow to the back of his head before losing consciousness. A less-than-happy Kuro grabbed him like a sack of potatoes.

"There was no need to hit him that hard." (Kohaku)

"Shut up, Kohaku! It's a miracle I didn't kill him! He saw our faces!" (Kuro)

"One more reason to make him our ally. You're just making things harder by doing that." (Kohaku)

"I agree with Kohaku-chan; it will be harder for him to trust us if you keep trying to hurt him." (Chloe)

"Tsk! Let's go home!"

******

Hajime woke up with a strong headache; the last thing he remembered was the pain of being hit on the head by Kuro.

"Back in a cell again, huh?"

Just like last time, the teenager woke up, most likely, in the cell where they had confined him last time, except this time he wasn’t tied up and the metal door was open.

"(Let's see how things go.)"

The boy followed the sounds until he reached the trio, who seemed to be eating at a table in a large cafeteria.

"Finally awake, sleeping beauty!" (Kuro)

"Shut up!" (Hajime)

Kuro and Hajime started to insult each other as soon as they saw one another. Neither seemed able to tolerate the other for more than a few milliseconds before wanting to punch each other in the face.

"Come on, Kamijo-san! Eat with us; you’ll find out that Cloe is a great cook!"

The silver-haired boy looked at them doubtfully for a few minutes until the aroma of the food became too tempting to resist.

"You kidnapped me... again." (Hajime)

"No, let's clarify. We knocked you out and brought you to our home; you’re free to leave whenever you want, but we can’t let you know the location of this place, I hope you understand." (Kohaku)

Kohaku kept smiling cheerfully while eating, Kuro watched Hajime like a hawk, and Cloe was so focused on her plate that she was ignoring everything and everyone. This went on for several minutes.

"Will you give me my answers?! I'm starting to lose my patience!"

"Okay, but first you need to drink this. It’s a truth serum."

Kohaku brought a vial of clear liquid to the table. Hajime thought it was the same as what they had made him drink the last time he was there; the boy immediately went on guard.

"You know too much about me! In contrast, I don’t know anything about you!"

"That's why we're using this. Try it; just a few drops are enough, and you’ll see it's authentic. I’ll drink it so you’ll be sure that what I tell you will only be the truth."

"Why would you go so far?!"

"To have a minimum of trust between us. It’s the foundation of any relationship."

Goto's stepson was doubtful but decided to try drinking a few drops from the vial. After all, it was impossible for it to be poison; if they wanted him dead, they would have had plenty of opportunities to do so while he slept.

"Okay, let me ask you a trial question: Kamijo-san, who would you rather sleep with between me and Chloe?"

Silence, an absolute and heavy silence fell over the room. Kuro's eyes nearly popped out of his head; the same went for Chloe. Meanwhile, Hajime was so taken aback that he didn’t realize he was about to respond.

"I would say more..."

Before the boy could finish, he slapped his hands over his mouth to keep from uttering any other words.

"Well, now you know it works! Eheheheh, I would have loved to know your answer!"

Kohaku's cheerful and amused face was replaced by an expressionless one, which, according to Goto's stepson, was genuinely terrifying. He didn’t notice the other two sitting at the table had tensed up with anxiety.

"Okay, let’s begin?"

And so began the conversation that would forever change the way Hajime saw his home, the island of [Fumetsu].