Rain had recently turned sixteen.
For every teenager, that was a special date. It signified more than words could describe, because from that point forward, for about two or three years, they would be vulnerable to the infection of the Spell.
She had expected to feel a large change within herself, but to Rain's surprise, everything about her seemed more or less the same.
…The world around her, however, had changed a lot.
Her daily routine was exactly as it had been before, but beneath the surface, everyone was acting differently. Her parents tried to hide their fear, but she knew how worried they really were. Her classmates were putting on a brave face, but none of them could act nearly as well as they thought they could. Even the teachers seemed much more subdued.
The mood on the streets of the city was subtly different, too.
Of course, Rain was not the center of the universe. Most of these changes had nothing to do with her, and were instead caused by the event that had everyone glued to the news portals — the grand evacuation of the Southern Quadrant. It was a historic event, after all.
Granted, none of it had truly affected NQSC. The refugees were yet to arrive, and the danger they were running from was so far away that it did not feel real. It was just that everyone seemed to have an opinion about what was happening, and there were military vehicles on the roads sometimes.
There were numerous recruitment posters all around the city, too, encouraging people to enlist in the Second Evacuation Army. The First one was already achieving victory after victory in Antarctica, pushing back the abominable Nightmare Creatures each day. Anyone who wanted to win glory and help the victorious heroes defend humanity was invited to join the war effort.
Or at least that was what the news told them. Most people just took the propaganda at face value, believing that the Antarctica campaign was going well, but Rain had a slight advantage over them when it came to such things. Her father worked for the government, after all, and although he rarely talked about his job at home, she had learned a few things over the years.
These days, her dad looked very stressed. He looked more stressed with each passing day.
…And Sunny was gone.
Rain had grown accustomed to her eccentric neighbor coming and going as he pleased, sometimes disappearing for long stretches of time. At least she knew where he was, on this occasion… if anything, the idea of Sunny ordering soldiers around was more comical than frightening.
'Those poor people…'
She knew, of course, that her impish teacher was an actual Master. Despite Sunny's ridiculous attitude and strange antics, he was an Ascended of considerable power… not just anyone could have been a member of Changing Star's cohort.
But still, still…
Lady Nephis, Effie, Night... all of them were exalted warriors. But Sunny was a scout. Even if he was a splendid swordsman and a cunning tactician, his Aspect was not suited for battle, let alone the kind of battles that must be happening in Antarctica.
What the hell was that fool doing in the middle of a war?
And why the hell was he not answering her messages?!
'Damn it, Sunny!'
Sitting in class and finding herself unable to concentrate on the lesson — it was just a perfunctory summer course, anyway, and everyone was sleepy after an intense combat drill — Rain was staring at the screen of her communicator with dark intensity.
Things had been fine at first, but then everything went wrong. When Sunny stopped answering, she had not been too worried. For a couple of weeks.
It had been two months now, though, and there was still no sign of him.
At some point, Rain had grown concerned and, not knowing what else to do, contacted Aiko. But Aiko simply told her to relax, and that Sunny was definitely doing great somewhere out there. The petite young woman seemed to have a lot of confidence in Sunny's abilities, it seemed.
And yet, Rain was ill at ease.
It was funny… right now, she should have been worried sick about being chosen by the Spell, but Sunny's strange silence bothered her much more.
And so, Rain was staring at the screen of her communicator in the middle of a class.
Her message log would have been embarrassing, if things weren't so scary.
"Hey, did you get my last message?"
"Rain to Sunny, hello?"
"Stop ignoring me."
"Why aren't you answering?"
"Sunny?"
"If you're too busy, just say so and I'll find something more interesting to do."
"What, not even an "okay"? Come on."
"Seriously though, are you alright?"
"Did something happen?"
"If I find out that you just forgot to read my messages, you are a dead man."
"You are not really dead, are you?"
"Ha-ha, just joking."
"What the hell, you did not even congratulate me on my birthday?"
"Sunny, are you okay?"
"Answer me dammit."
"Sunny, answer me."
"I might be a little worried, so… please send me a message when you have free time."
"Please answer me."
Rain gritted her teeth and put the communicator away. She tried listening to the lecture, although it was hard to hear anything with how much her classmates were whispering around her, gossiping about this and that.
The class, the gossip, it all seemed so… inconsequential.
The whole classroom seemed surreal, actually. It was too peaceful, too warm, and too normal. Somewhere out there, millions of people were being displaced or dying. The loss of one of the four Quadrants could have long-term and catastrophic consequences for all of humanity. The same thing that was transpiring in Antarctica could just as easily happen to other continents soon.
And yet, people were behaving as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. They just went about their lives, acting unconcerned. Did they not understand what was happening? Did they not know that soldiers were dying on the frontline every day?
That Awakened were dying, too?
'Fools… damned fools…'
At that moment, one of her classmates turned around, leaned forward, and whispered:
"Hey, Rain. Why are you so down lately? Wanna go eat something spicy after class? There's probably going to be food rationing for a while after those refugees arrive, so this might be our last chance to…"
Before Rain knew what she was doing, an angry response flew out of her mouth:
"Is food all you're thinking about?!"
She blinked, realizing that she was standing, and that the whole class was staring at her. Apparently, she had forgotten to keep her voice down… and to remain in her seat…
The teacher gave Rain a bewildered look.
"...Why, yes. This topic might not seem too interesting to you youngsters, but it would be unprofessional for me to be thinking about something else while presenting it. Now, please sit down and behave, young miss. Where are your manners?"
Embarrassed, Rain returned to her seat and turned to the window.
The class continued, and the gossip continued, too. Only this time, she was the subject of the whispers.
'Great…'
***
On her way home, Rain passed a familiar grey house. She paused for a few moments, looking at the porch where a certain insufferable Master could often be seen in the past, drinking coffee and acting as if he did not have a single worry in the world.
The porch was empty, and the house was empty, too.
With a sigh, she turned away and continued walking.
'Why do I care about that idiot, anyway? Damned Sunny. Even if he sends me a message now, I won't answer.'
At that moment, her communicator vibrated, announcing that there was a new notification.
Rain glanced at it absentmindedly, and then suddenly froze.
There was a new message on the screen.
It read:
"Sunny: Gods! What is up with all these messages? Are you a stalker? I was just stuck in an area without a network connection for a while, there was no need to assault my inbox! Anyway… happy belated birthday, I guess. How are you doing?
Data transfers are limited where I am now, so I'll be short. I'm fine. Oh… and I received another medal. Pretty cool, right?"
Rain stared at the screen for a few moments, then took a shaky breath and started typing furiously.