I suffered from my fever for three days.

I was shopping one day and I stumbled upon a cat café. I got curious because it was a newly opened one in the area.

Actually, it is a café where you can normally order what you can at an ordinary one. It just had an extra touch with the addition of felines.

“Welcome, sir.”

Apparently, you can also get a cat there. I sat on a beanbag beside a coffee table and some cats went into me.

“Would you like something, sir?”

“A caramel latte, please.”

While I was waiting for the latte I ordered, I saw a cat sitting on a shelf. As first glance, I thought he is an “it’s not my business” or “I don’t care” cat. He’s a type of a listless one. I continued staring at him but my latte was delivered whilst I was looking at it.

“Here’s you caramel latte, sir.”

“Thank you very much.

Huh? Where did it go?”

I heard a commotion from all the crew of the café. They are all looking at a cat walking towards me.

“This is the first time I saw him leave his spot!”

“Oh my goodness, he actually left!”

Even though it was a bit anticlimactic, it seems to be a big deal to all of them.

That cat that they were talking about sat beside me.

“He’s taken a liking to someone?! This is news!”

“…

What could you all be talking about?”

“The cat beside you never left his spot until now. He also usually sleeps every time but now he is interacting with someone.

We’re like his parents who are very happy because our child learned how to walk.”

“That’s a bit of an overstatement… Haha…

But is he really not interacting with people?”

“Yes. He’s just like that since we opened.”

I observed the cat carefully but he’s just staring at me the whole time. He doesn’t even avert his eyes from me.

After that, I decided something.

“Hmm…

By the looks of it, he’s a male right? Does he have a name?”

“Unfortunately, he doesn’t.”

“Eh. That’s cruel.”

“Poor little guy…

Alright, I’ll get him. A-Ah…! That is, if it's fine…! I'm sorry!”

“Wha-?”

“Then, if that’s the case, we will prepare the documents and you can give him a name now.”

“…

Your name is Haku, from now on. Got it?”

He immediately answered with a meow after I told him his name. He seems to like it.

I left him at the cafe and returned after I finished shopping. We went home in no time and prepared a bed where he can sit with all his might and pride. He’s not a playful cat but he also does not wander around unless I’m with him. Even though I’m upstairs and he doesn’t see me, he always knew that I am up then he will follow me in my room.

One night, he sat on my desk in front of the window.

“Gin! Are you there…

A cat?”

I heard Rin’s voice from the other side even though my window is closed. I quickly opened the window while Haku is still sitting on the desk.

“Now, now. Haku, don’t jump.”

“Is that… your cat, Gin?”

“Yeah! His name is Haku and he’s been here since yesterday. I got him from the cat café that recently opened. Apparently, he’s an antisocial cat but he took a liking to me for some reason.

By the way, he’s a ‘housemate’, so it’s a taboo for saying that word.”

“He’s really cute… Can I come over to see him?”

“Sure. We will welcome you downstairs.”

“Ok. I’ll go now.”

▪ ▪ ▪

September 19, Tuesday.

It’s just your normal school day. Nothing really is happening and the weather is nice.

“Morning, Gin.”

“Morning.

Does anyone of you have a cat?”

“We don’t have.”

“I have a dog, though.”

“Nope.”

“I don’t.”

“I got myself a cat last weekend, actually.”

“Ahhh…

I do remember you saying you like cats.”

“His name is Haku.”

“So I suppose you’ve seen him or her already, don’t you, Ringo?”

“Yeah, I have. He’s really cute.”

“Alright, Class. Take your seats. Homeroom is now starting. To start off the day, we have more transfer students. There are a total of four, and they all come from Japan. Don’t worry, they can speak our language.

Now then, please introduce yourselves.”

“I’m Ryou Yugare, I’m pleased to meet you all.”

“I am Ayato Kaminari, please take care of me from now on.”

“My name is Hina Itori, nice to meet you.”

“The name’s Ichika Mitsumi, yoroshiku~.”

We are now 34 students in total. I thought they are all relatives but they have different surnames. Now there are five Japanese students in Class 4A and that is surreal.

But the person sitting beside Rin seemed to be surprised but he did not show it. The one who is sat on the row before ours is Kaizo Ryuuya, who is also Japanese.

▪ ▪ ▪

We have time for club today after school. Instead of working in the Art Room, we chose to go up the rooftop.

Like usual, we are doing sketches and paintings on a blank canvas. I decided to paint today.

While we were doing our things, the door of the rooftop suddenly opened. The four new students entered the rooftop and they immediately saw us.

“It’s fine, you may. We’re just working on club stuff. We won’t murder you like what you may have heard from the rumors. We are not killers, so don’t worry.”

“You are from our class right?”

“Yes, all of us are in 4A.

Actually…

Nice to meet you all.”

“Oh? The four transferees! Kon’nichiwa!”

“Nyan.”

“Yōkoso.”

“Go.”

“Roku.”

“Oh? Can all of you speak Nihongo?”

“We’re just a bunch of geeks.”

“Not really, we just know some words and phrases. You may have already heard of the state of otakus in this country.”

It looks like they are all friends from Japan and the one who really stand out is Ryou Yugare.

“Hey, hey… Can one of you introduce yourself in Japanese?”

Ichika Mitsumi is a really lively girl. I think she’s an extrovert—my opposite.

“Geez. Cut it out Ichika.”

Ayato Kaminari, I think. He’s probably the easiest to be approached.

“I’m Hina Itori.”

She told us her name just like that and then she bowed. Actually, she’s not even listening to the three of his friends. She’s pretty quiet and composed. Is she perhaps an introvert?

“I guess we should call them with honorifics then.”

“Yeah. They’re Japanese after all.”

“I’m Gin Sakato.”

“I’m Nagi Kajima.”

“I am Jean Ando.”

“Akira Bentley is the name.”

“I’m Ringo Akanami.”

“I’m Shiro Kirishima.”

“So then…

Yugare-san, can we know where all of you came from Japan? It seems that all of you are friends.”

“We are all from Kanto Region—in Tokyo prefecture, specifically.”

“Ohhh… You’re drawing. Can I see? Can I see?”

“You’re all from the Art Club, right?”

“Yes we are.

On the other hand, it’s probably a little difficult to adjust in Orio, more so in our school since all of the schools in the country start the school year at June, we are the only ones that started the school year last month.”

“There’s also no spring, winter or fall here. It’s just summer and the rainy seasons. Though for some reason, it’s getting colder a bit quicker.”

“Actually, in Japan, you are first year on senior high school already right? I forgot that the curriculums are different. You may just stay in fourth year in junior high school until March or May.”

“Yes, we were first year in senior high school in Japan and as you have said, here in Orio, we are at our fourth year in junior high school. We do plan on completing this school year here and we may as well fly back to Japan to continue studying.”

“What…? Itori-san is so formal…”

“By the way, I know this question is out of the blue but, by any chance do you know the other Japanese student here? He’s Kaizo Ryuuya-san.

He sits on the row in front of us and when you were introducing yourselves, he looks stunned and surprised. I don’t know if he was shocked because there are new Japanese students or it may be also because he is acquainted to all of you.”

“Should I call you Sakato-san?”

“Well, yes… you could. I also wanted to be called with honorifics by someone. Haha…”

“Yes, your hunch is right. We were acquainted to Ryuuya-san.”

“Uhm… I just noticed that you called him with honorifics but you addressed Mitsumi-san with her first name.”

“Ah, it’s because we just met him in February but us four already were friends since middle school.”

“And Ryuuya-san got surprised when he saw all of us. You could say that we pranked him because he didn’t know we’re also transferring~”

“Ichika-san is quite a lively lady, isn’t she?”

“Sorry for disturbing your work. We just wanted to see the view up here. We’re about to go home anyways.”

“It’s fine.

If that’s the case, be safe on your way home.”

“Yes, thank you.

Actually, Sakato-san—do you live near the school?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I think I saw you from a house in this street when you were about to go to school. The one before turning left to I think… before Cerulean Street?”

“Ah, yes. That’s where I live. I guess you could say I live between White Street and Cerulean.

It may be rude to ask but can I also know where you live? The six of us exchanged addresses of our places for the sake of fairness.”

Ryou seems to be prepared since he just took a paper with his address written on it. They all bowed down and went in afterwards.

“You’re one to talk. You didn’t even tell us where you live even though we are classmates for four years now, for crying out loud.”

“But I didn’t ask where your places are, anyways. Besides, I just moved recently and now I have Haku as a housemate.”

“Ah, yeah. Can we see Haku some time?”

“Have a fixed day but I will already say that I’m free on Saturday. I have a job application on Sunday, actually.”

“Then Saturday it is.”

“While we’re all at it, who wants to eat ramen on that day? Raise your pinky.”

We look like total idiots raising our pinky in the air. I guess they all want ramen.

“Are we going to a ramen shop you know, Gin?”

“Rin can answer that.”

“Okay.

He can actually make a ramen like it’s an authentic one. He let me have one bowl last time before he got ill.”

“Huh? I didn’t know you can cook.”

“Actually, you do know my father, right?”

“Mr. Ando? Yes, we sometimes see each other by chance.”

“He said that he saw you with a girl entering Giotto’s a few days ago. Then you hurriedly went to the back room but ordered a Semifreddo before entering the kitchen.

At first, I thought you complained to the manager but you took some time after you went out. That’s what Dad said.”

“Oh… that. It was the day I moved out. I was actually doing some shopping with Rin but I said that I just need a word from Giotto’s that time.

Not to brag but the crew were currently shorthanded and they need another cook for a dish. I volunteered to make one dish for a table because I need to talk with the owner. It turns out, the dish I made was good.”

“Now, that’s something.

We should probably get going now. It’s getting a bit late.”

▪ ▪ ▪

I was playing with Haku that night when someone knocked on my door. He’s not very familiar to me but I think I’ve seen that man recently.

I think he’s around 25 years of age. I realized that he looked like an adult version of a transfer student named Ryou Yugare.

“Is this Mr. Gin Sakato’s residence?”

“Uhh… yes. But do I know you?”

“My name is Ryou Yugare and I work at a support company from Japan. A branch in Orio recently opened nearby.

Here is my card.”

Anew Co.

Ryou Yugare

Contact No. xxxx-xxx-xxxx

“Huh?!”

“As I expected you are surprised. I am a student in your school and I’m a fourth year in junior high school at Class 4A.”

“So you’re really Yugare-san?”

“Indeed, I am that man.”

“Please have a seat, then. I have just one question for you to answer.”

He took a seat on the couch but I remained stood in front of him while Haku is comfortably resting on my left shoulder.

“Who is the real Ryou Yugare?”

“This is my real form. As you can see, I am a 25 year-old man wearing a suit at night like he minds his own business.”

“The Façade, huh.”

“So you knew the Façade? It’s quite surprising.”

“If injected to an individual, one’s physical appearance will change, but the constitution internally won’t. In your case, I suppose you were injected with one and appeared ten years younger.

Does this mean that the other three were also adults just like you?”

“Yes. Ayato, Ichika and Hina are all the same age as mine.”

“What is the purpose of this?”

“Anew Company is a company that lets chosen people to change their lives. To start their lives ‘anew’, so to speak.

Our purpose is to observe someone who failed at the society and gave up on being a working human. Our mission is to change the future of them by giving them a second chance to function again.”

“Is your company inspired by ReL*FE?”

“Precisely.

There are currently two people that we are observing here in Orio.”

“I would assume it’s Kaizo Ryuuya.”

“We need to keep it confidential but you hit the bullseye. He is also 25 but he suffered from abuse from his boss when he was working. The records on his resume aren’t that good so other companies do not accept him anymore in Japan.”

“But there is one more person-“

“And that is you, Mr. Sakato.”

“What…”

“We didn’t have any records of you from your past like we usually do to with other subjects. But we noticed that you were on a leave for a week so we suspected something happened to you. So the higher-ups decided that we will choose you as the second subject.”

“And where did you get an intel about me?”

“From Ryuuya-san, of course. He’s the only one that can tell about it.”

“You seem to be overestimating it just by suspecting my five days of leave. Then you chose me?”

“We aim to observe you too, as you seem to have taken a change physically. But there might be an event that you need a change.”

“…

You are half right. I finally saw the change without you knowing. But I guess I need a guide for me to obtain that change.

So I may just be suited as a subject. Alright, I won’t refuse if you will observe me.”

“Thank you very much. Since you already agreed, we will need your help from time to time.”

“In what way?”

“By helping Ryuuya-san change.”

After listening to Ryou’s explanation, I sat down on the floor while he is taking documents out from his bag.

The documents contain Kaizo Ryuuya’s bio data and resume.

“Since I’m starting to get involved with this matter, mind telling me his history from work?”

“How should I start it…

He started working at the age of 22 at a company but he submitted a letter of resignation after 6 months because he didn’t get absorbed to the work.

After that, he applied to another company at the age of 24. That time, he had a good standing in his surroundings and got promoted two times. But later, his boss doubled his workload and overworked himself.

His company always told him that ‘he did not meet their expectations and standards’, resulting to his disappearance without even submitting a letter of resignation. He suffered from burnout and depression but fortunately, we located him by gathering information in his past company. When we went there to research, he was being badmouthed and being stabbed on his back.”

Silence surrounded the whole living room for some minutes. I noticed that Ryou is using a fake smile earlier at the rooftop but now even if he doesn’t want to show it, I’m seeing genuine sadness in his face.

“And that is why all of you went here to the South—for him to experience a new environment instead of a high school in Japan?”

“Yes, indeed. If he were to attend a high school in the North, his condition might get worse.”

“So that’s what your company thought, huh.

I wouldn’t ask how you did your research, but I need to ask your company a favor regarding his current environment.

Can you do a background check to all of the students of Class 4A? But I’m limiting you to do a check in the situations where they are only in the vicinity of the school.”

Ryou looked confused but he didn’t lose his composure and asked.

“But, for what reason? Can I know?”

“I can’t tell you the reason directly but the only thing I can do is to be vague.

Their background checking will be easy if it is inside the school. Once all of the information is on your hands, call me immediately. Here’s my number.”

Gin took a small piece of paper on the coffee table and wrote his phone number and gave it to Ryou.

“I’m a bit surprised.”

“Huh?”

“You barely even know us, but it seems as though you are working with us like it’s nothing.”

“You see, I know a bit of people whom I don’t really know. But they opened their hearts to me and I realized that they have good intentions.

They helped me when I was on a grave situation, so I gave them my trust. It’s like I already belonged to them.”

“But telling them this doesn’t mean I have already trusted this company…”

“I see.

Well then, I need to take my leave now and rest. Today is our first day of work and we need to adjust to our environment.”

“Hold on, how long have you been here in Orio?”

“Ayato and I were here since April. Then the last to arrive was Ryuuya-san.”

“Based on the address you gave me, you live in Queen Street. So I would assume the news where an unknown minor was hit by a truck and his whereabouts are nowhere to be found.”

“I’ve heard about it and then I checked the scene. The rain didn’t wash the blood on the wall so with that evidence, I think the victim suffered severe injuries.”

“I heard that he was rescued by an ambulance but there are no hospital records anywhere.”

“But why bring that up now?”

“When it happened, I was in the Capital running errands for my dad, that’s why I was on a leave for a week. For some reason, I felt really down when I heard the news.

But I ended up in an accident that led my whole right arm to get burnt.”

“…

Alright, I’ll be going now.”

“Right, see you at school as the younger you.”

I think he knew that I am lying about me taking a “leave for five days”. But if that was the case, we’re just fair. He lied about a lot of things, or he didn’t tell the full story.

For the whole time he was talking, I noticed that his hand that is resting on his right knee is restless. His thumb is constantly moving whenever he talked.

They are not bad people, but I don’t know what their company can do. I thought that I will only observe Kaizo Ryuuya, but I guess Anew will also be on my eyes.

…

Wait…

There’s a bigger problem than that.

My sister will be coming home tomorrow.