"Well, we didn't really find any new information, well, besides this new room, but it seemed like Nahoko and Miyoko get along well until we got out of the place then Nahoko and Miyoko started arguing about Miyoko asking for me to go to Snowfest but then they just... stopped after this new transfer student showed up, her name is Kiwa, seems nice but yeah then I met up with-" said Broki-chan. Before he could finish his sentence, however, Monika cuts him off with a loud "wait wait wait...". She pauses waiting for Broki-chan to stop talking before she continues "so let me get this straight, Nahoko and Miyoko are now suddenly friends despite basically never interacting with each other? Don't you think that's weird?". Broki-chan shrugs as he replies, "I mean, yeah, kinda, but I don't get what you're implying"

  "What I'm implying is, from the sounds of it, Nahoko and Miyoko might be working together on something, perhaps even plotting something involving this Kiwa girl. I don't like this, especially considering how, in my eyes, Miyoko seems a bit more... psychotic than usual. But anyway, you should still go to Snowfest with Miyoko. That way, you could drive a wedge between the two by keeping one close. Besides, Miyoko is the better choice. Nahoko is way too unpredictable, so Miyoko is the better option."

  "I don't know, it seems like a bad idea to me, but on the other hand, I don't think I can come up with an excuse, so I guess I'll have to go-"

  The sound of the bell ringing interrupts their conversation for a moment before Broki-chan continues, "Oh, that reminds me, I also bumped into Ishi, and she translated a bit of the book, and it turns out it's a book which revives the dead, but that isn't the only interesting thing Ishi found out, turns out someone else who isn't Sakura was writing in the book."

  Monika tilts her head and replies, "Huh? Why would someone write in a revival book?"

  "I have no idea, putting in notes, I assume, but it might be connected to the boiler room somehow, and if that's the case, then I might have a lead as to who might be writing in that book."

  "Yeah, that would make sense. Who's your suspect?"

  "Kioko, she gave me a key that helped unlock the boiler room as a clue."

  "Yeah, right, that's awfully suspicious; you know what? I'll join you, and if she gives any indication of my presence, then we know that she'd be crazy enough to write in a revival book without a doubt."

  "Yeah, that's a good idea. Let's go confront her now."

  Broki-chan begins walking around the school aimlessly as Monika follows before they hear a loud cracking sound, which causes Broki-chan to turn around. Almost immediately, the fire alarm goes off as the smoke begins to come from the science lab. Broki-chan takes a step back as he says, "We should go", to which Monika nods in agreement. He safely gets out of the school through the school gate as Monika follows. He looks at Monika as he says, "Go check what happened". Monika nods and floats away in the direction of the school. After Monika is gone, Broki-chan looks around for a few seconds before spotting someone staring at him on the other side of the street.

  It was Kioko; however, her eyes looked significantly brighter than before.

  Broki-chan looks confused as he looks both ways before crossing the street. As Broki-chan crosses the street, Kioko begins walking away as if she were leading him somewhere. He follows her as she walks into an alley before she stops in her tracks completely. Kioko doesn't turn around as Broki-chan stops in confusion. "Uh, hey Kioko?" said Broki-chan; however, she didn't respond. She doesn't respond for a few minutes as the sounds of traffic surround them.

  "Broki-chan..." said Kioko; however, she sounded different, as if she was monotone than usual. She still doesn't turn around as she sighs and looks at the ground.

  "Be careful, Glit- Broki-chan, for the hourglass's sands, are slipping away from someone close to you, and the delicate touch of their fate and yours lies in your hands. I'm sorry for contacting you this way, but I didn't have another choice. For your sake and mine, I hope we don't meet again, but I know we will."

  Broki-chan looks confused as he tries to process what Kioko just said. Out of nowhere, Kioko faints. Broki-chan is completely speechless as Kioko passes out. He looks around, clearly panicked. He tries waking up Kioko for a few minutes to no avail as Monika floats up behind him and says, "Hey, so it turns out it was a chemical fire, no one was hurt, and it's safe now, but... uh..." She finally realises that Kioko is on the floor and Broki-chan is panicking, trying to shake her awake. Monika floats closer towards Kioko as she asks, "Is she dead?"

  Broki-chan stops shaking her as he replies, "I don't- I don't know, she just fainted, I think, after she told me something, but I don't know what she was going on about; maybe she got hypothermia or something."

  "Huh, is that so? Was it slightly cryptic?"

  "I mean, yeah, I guess."

  "Oh, I know... never mind, she'll be fine. Just give her a few hours, and she'll be up as if nothing happened. Leave her there."

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  "What?..." said Broki-chan as he stood up and looked at Monika. He looks back at Kioko and then back at Monika as he continues, "That's a stupid idea; we can't just leave Kioko in a random alley while she's out cold; we've got to do something, not just leave her here and hope that she doesn't die". Monika sighed as she muttered, "You and your stupid need to help others really get on my nerves sometimes, but...". She looks at Broki-chan with a smiling expression. She says, slightly angry, "Fine. Take her to Sakura's house. The place has already been checked, and the police have already swept through it and got what they wanted. Plus, there's nothing gruesome there because crime scene cleaners have already gone through, so practically no one is there."

  Broki-chan stands up with an almost horrified look and replies, "No way, I can't do that; I don't even know the way from here". Monika takes another deep sigh as she says, "Fine, I'll show you the way from here. Otherwise, you'd have to try and drag her into the school, and if you get caught... then I'd assume that would be a real quick way to get arrested."

  Broki-chan lets out a small chuckle before he covers his mouth and clears his throat as he says, "Right, well, where do we go?". He picks up Kioko, who moves around almost lifeless as if she were a doll, but it gives Broki-chan some relief because Kioko is still warm to the touch. Monika's face changes back to a neutral expression as she says, "Follow me". She leads him through several alleyways and backyards, only stopping once for a few seconds as some people walk past. They eventually get into Sakura's backyard, causing Monika to pause as she says, "Wait here for a moment. I'm going to unlock the door". He tilts his head in confusion as Monika floats towards the door, and he says, "Wait, how can unlock a door if you can't-"

  Before he can finish asking his question, the door swings open, and Monika phases out of it, leaving Broki-chan nearly speechless as he asks, "How- how did you open-".

  "The door? Ghosts can possess objects. Most of the time, it's useless, but it's quite helpful for forcing locked doors to unlock and open because it's connected to other stuff or causes electronics to glitch out because it's connected to the internet. I thought I told you this already."

  "No??? But... whatever," said Broki-chan as he stepped through the door. He only takes three steps in before he accidentally spooks both himself and Sakura's ghost, causing him to drop Kioko on the ground. Sakura quickly gets a hold of herself as she says, confused, "Broki? What are you doing here with Kioko and... sorry, I don't know who you are". Monika floats closer to Sakura, and she replies in confusion, "I'm Monika. How come you're not in True Void?"

  "True Void? Oh, you mean that weird dark void with no colours?"

  "Yeah, how come you're not there?"

  "Oh, come on, you and I both know why it's the same reason as why you're not there. We both have unfinished business here, making us refuse to die in peace, you know that."

  "Yeah, but why are you here specifically?"

  "Well, I- I just have one last thing to do..." said Sakura as she turned to Broki-chan. She looks around as if she is hesitating to do something, as Broki-chan notices a bleeding head wound where Sakura is hit. Sakura lets out a sigh before she looks at Broki-chan and says, "I'm not mad at you anymore. I- I've come to a revelation that you didn't actually see her, right? No wonder you were so confused, but I won't spoil the surprise."

  She pauses for a moment, almost debating if she should continue speaking before saying, "I will warn you, though, that a war per se is coming, and you'll have to pick sides soon, but you got the strongest card in the deck, my card. You don't know how to use it yet, but if you go to that boiler room, then it will show you how to use it. I'm sorry-. I'm sorry I wasn't better than you were; you're the best, and I never got to say that. Then Miyoko said something to me, and I know I overreacted, I know, and I'm sorry".

  She starts making sniffling sounds as if she is crying but can't. She looks at Kioko and stops, and she makes a quiet gasp as if she is worried about something. She looks back at Broki-chan and continues, "I- I just hope you don't pick the wrong side; please be good to me, Broki; you were better than what I deserved". Before Broki-chan could say anything he wanted to, Sakura floated down into the ground, presumably to True Void.

  Broki-chan flops to the ground, completely at a loss for words before he looks up at Monika and says, "We have to go to the boiler room again. We- I need to know who killed her. I have to know who would do this, I didn't do anything wrong I don't think so? Why would they do this Monika?!". Monika looks at him as she replies, "I don't- I don't know that answer, Broki, but you'll figure it out soon. For someone with bad- interesting ideas, you always figure it out, but hey-". She floats towards him and places her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way as she continues, "Let's not think about that now. Let's focus on the future and present. How about you just place Kioko on the couch? She'll probably be waking up anytime now."