“Souta! Wake up for breakfast already or you’re going to be late for school again.” That dream, who is that? This was the fourth time this week, the dream would always start with me in a church as I could faintly recall the walls melting down around me into blood, without warning the floor below me would crumple and I would fall straight through it. Just as I’m about to fall, a hand reaches out towards me and grabs onto me, who could that be? “Souta! Get your lazy bum down here already geez…” “Alright, alright.” I got up and dragged my seemingly lifeless body to the washroom. Before I knew it I was at the entrance ready to leave for school.

“Here, it’s your bento for lunch almost forgot to hand it to you haha.” I reached out and gently pat my sister on the head, “Thank you I’ll be back soon.” “Have fun at school, can’t wait for the day when you bring back a beauty who would care for you as much as I do, then again with that sort of luck you need to get a girlfriend, I might as well use it to ballot for the new super limited edition Magical Girl Kyoka figurine.” “It’s not my problem, it’s the girls around me…ouch!” “Enough with the excuses and leave already.” She throws my bag at me and ushers me out. As I headed to school, I could see the usual bunch of “popular” people walking in groups past me. Why am I not part of this exclusive bunch of people? Well there is a long history behind it let’s not dwell into that… “Hi, are you from Sendo High School?” I turned around and before me was this girl around 165cm tall with beautiful blue eyes and long pink hair exactly like the color of sakura flowers. She can’t possibly be talking to me; no guy even wants to talk to me let alone a girl. I turned back and continued walking to school.

“Good morning everyone, oh Souta it seems you are finally punctual today. It’s good to see that you aren’t late again.” I greeted her and walked back to my seat at the corner of the class, as I walked past my classmates I could faintly hear some of them “Wow, can’t believe he is actually on time today.” “What a loser, can’t believe sensei still cares about him.” Placing my bag down on the floor under my desk, I slouched back on my seat trying my best to ignore their comments. But who knew? This very moment was the moment that would change the course of my life and affect me for eternity. “Class today we have a new transfer student from urgh let me see, well the record doesn’t state where she is from but…you may come on in the introduce yourself.”

Wait, she…she is that same girl, the one I met earlier, did she follow me all the way here? I hope she wasn’t talking to me just now oh boy, another negative first impression of me. “Hi, my name is Hanabi but you can call me Hana. I come from a far off country but that isn’t important. Pleased to meet all of you, oh and that boy who came in before me, what’s his name?” The whole class turned around and stared at me, “You wouldn’t wanna involve yourself with him.” Hanabi walked over to me and bowed down, “Thank you for guiding me here, without you I would probably be late for school. I’m Hanabi and you are?” Her eyes, they were like crystal diamonds, glistening in this otherwise dreadful classroom I despised so much. “My name…Souta, Souta Kentaro. You can call me whatever you like, I don’t really ca…” “Souta? That’s a lovely name pleased to meet you. Sensei, can I take this seat beside him?” That moment I thought to myself, what a drag, of all the people in this class to bother, why me. That day, I was given the task to show Hanabi around the school and to make her feel at home and even worse this happened. “Souta? I don’t really have a place to stay around here in Japan, it’s weird for a girl to you know…” “No.” I turned around and started my way back home but each time I turned back, there she was just following me seemingly having nowhere else to go. “Tsk, how long are you going to follow me?”

“Eh? Onii-chan you’re on your way back too? Great here’s all the groceries today and can I ask who this girl is? Oh boy, could it be? Because of my motivational words my hopeless brother here has finally found himself a…” “No. She’s just a transfer student who doesn’t have a place to stay but she keeps pestering…” “Of course she can stay! What a thoughtful brother I have, maybe you aren’t as hopeless as I think you are. Hey hey, what’s your name? My name is Yukina but you can call me Yuki hehe.” “Oh, nice to meet me my name is Hanabi and thank you so much! Humans are truly kind and compassionate beings!” Yukina jumps forwards and embraces Hanabi, “There’s no need for that, we just so happen to have an extra room that no one uses anymore." Is it just me or is she really weird? Anyways this day keeps getting worse, the annoying dreams, the idiotic classmates I have and now this random girl is living with us, give me a break.

Once we reached home, I placed all the groceries into the kitchen where Yukina starts to prepare dinner. “Souta! Bring our guest to her new room and help her set up the bed and all!” What a drag… “Ok, Hanabi follow me, a few ground rules here, firstly no loud noises after 10 if not the neighbours would be annoyed not to mention Yukina, secondly since you are a girl, you use Yukina’s bathroom and not mine please and lastly when I’m busy please don’t disturb me, I hate being….Hanabi?” She suddenly fell forward and landed into my arms, “Are you alright? You feel like your burning up a little.” I instinctively carry her into my room gently placing her onto my bed. “I’ll be setting up your new room, when I’m done I will inform you.” I turned around ready to walk off when I feel a tug on my shorts. “Mother, don’t leave me, mother I want you to stay with me please…” “Mother?”

Two years ago, when Crisis Zero happened, the world was split into two dimensions. The normal dimension and the zero dimension, at least 40% of human population were wiped out from this crisis including my mother, she sacrificed her life for mine and Yukina’s. Those two years sure passed by fast, I sat down beside Hanabi and held onto her hand tightly. “Mother don’t let go.” Soon enough Hanabi was fast asleep and the grip on her hand loosened. I got back up and headed to her room and started setting everything up, maybe she lost her mother too during Crisis Zero, whatever it’s none of my business.

“Shit, it’s 11 already I should sleep soon thank god the weekends are here, I can finally rest in peace.” The minutes passed quickly and before long I was back in that dream, “Fuck, this church again? The walls it’s bleeding again, I’m falling again aren’t I? Someone…someone…save me…” A hand came out to me again and this time I can feel it, it was soft yet firm, I wrapped my fingers around the hand tightly… Soon my eyes opened and I was awake, above me was a face and as I looked down at my right hand. “Wait, Hanabi? Oh…fuck…sorry I didn’t mean to touch you there.” I retract my hand from her breasts and rolled off the bed, “Anyways why are you on my bed? This isn’t your room, your room is down the…” She placed her finger onto my lips, “Shhh, you will wake Yukina up. I heard you calling for help and you looked like you were in a lot of pain so I came in and was about to sleep beside you but you woke up, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you I just thought maybe I could ease your pain. I…I don’t blame you for violating me it’s not really your fault besides men are all like this right?” What the fuck is going on, is this how a girl’s breast feels like? Why is she acting so calm? “No, sorry I didn’t mean to touch you there but thanks, I was having a nightmare, I’ve been having it for a few days now and it just won’t go away.”

“I understand.” She knelt down beside me and placed my hands over hers, “My mother used to tell me whenever you are in trouble or pain just call out to the person you love or care for you the most, they will almost surely appear before you and protect you from any danger. Next time you have a nightmare just call out my name and I will be there for you just like how you were there for me when I was in pain.” “Hanabi…Hanabi…thank…” Before I knew it a slipper came flying at my face, “It’s only the first day and you can’t control your animal instincts already huh…do you wanna die Onii-chan?” “Yuki-chan…this isn’t what it looks like, please…really…no joke you can ask Hanabi.” Next thing I knew I was knocked out…