I arrived at the plaza at 9:10am. The air chilled my lungs as I breathed. The ground was still white aside from the sidewalks and streets. Lights still shined brightly all throughout the shopping district. I wore my new scarf and a dark grey jacket. Waiting around in the elements was one of the things that I hated about my early arrival habit.

  "Kazu!" Chika called out as she ran up. "I'm sorry I'm late! I overslept again." It was just before 10 when she showed up.

  "No worries," I replied with a shrug and smirk. "I'm sure you were nervous going on a date with me."

  She didn't have a quick and witty response this time. Instead, she covered her mouth and nose with her own white scarf as she looked away. The scene before my eyes seemed like something out of a movie: she stood there in her new long blue coat, her white beanie, the scarf, and dark pants and boots. She looked absolutely...

  Beautiful.

  "That was supposed to be a joke; I guess I'm still really bad at comedy." I said as I scratched my head. "Y—you look really good, for what it's worth."

  She was still silent, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me along as she walked through the plaza. We passed store after store without so much as window shopping. She finally stopped at the theater.

  "Here we are, stop number one," she said, having regained her normal attitude and confidence. "There's a movie that I've been wanting to see, and, no, you don't have a choice, Kazu."

  After grabbing popcorn and a couple of drinks, we found our seats. The lights went out, and I quickly became aware of the fact that we were one of only three couples in the theater. Chika leaned her head on my shoulder shortly after the movie began. I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but I was completely frozen for the duration of the movie. I didn't even remember what it was about by the end.

  She smells so nice. Why is she doing this? Is she teasing me? Waiting for a response? Why can I never get a read on her?

  She remained silent the entire time, making it almost torture. After the lights came back on, she popped up, grabbed my arm again, and pulled me out of the theater. Her movements almost seemed robotic at some points. Every time I tried to get a glimpse of her face, she would pull harder and walk faster. We finally took a break at the same cafe that Ino and Kaori had dragged me to what seemed like forever ago. As I sat down, she ran to the bathroom.

  "I'm sorry for that, Kazu," she said softly as she returned. I had ordered her favorite drink and a black coffee in her absence.

  "Are you okay? You've been... off all day."

  "I..." she sighed. "I guess even you caught on, huh?"

  "What's wrong?"

  "Since that day in the park when you saved Lucy, I was nervous around you. When we went shopping the day after, I was still nervous, but I wanted to see you as the goofy boy that I grew up with. At the water park, when you saved Nina and Natsu without even really knowing them, you really seemed cool." She smiled as she fiddled with the silverware.

  "When that mob boss came after us, I was terrified, and you looked like you would really do it. I didn't know what to think, but then you all came back. I was so confused and hurt: I felt like the boy I knew was gone. Then, you told me about everything that had happened, and..." she looked into my eyes. "I wanted to cry for you."

  "It's really nothing to worry about, Chika," I started.

  "Do you remember when we were kids? That day we were playing on the playground and the sky got super bright?"

  "That solar flare, you mean?" I leaned forward in genuine curiosity. "Faintly, but, yes. I only remember playing with you and the sky getting bright."

  Further study of that flare later on concluded that a comet from deep space had gotten caught up in the wave. The ionized particles of it mixed with the radiation of the sun was discovered to be the birth of metas, but she didn’t need to know that nor would she likely care much.

  "When it happened," she gazed outside. "You pushed me into the spaceship on the playground and stood in the doorway. Neither of us knew what was happening, but you protected me nonetheless."

  Hard to believe I would do something like that, given how timid I was when I was little.

  "I think that was the day it started..." she trailed off in thought.

  "The day what started?"

  Her face went red, and she repeated her routine from the last two times. I left money on the table before being dragged out and down the lane again. This time, we ended up at the bench where she had patched me up after the fight with Nina and Natsu. She sat both of us down, and we sat in silence for a little while.

  "That day... I think that day was the day I started to like you, Kazu," she said like she was sighing in relief.

  Started? What? What's happening? What does she mean?

  "I'm not good at expressing my feelings, so I've turned to teasing you for all of these years. I thought every time that I did it that you would turn me away for being annoying or something, but here you are, on a date with me. I held them in for so long, and now they're out for you to see."

  "I—I don't know what to say," I stuttered.

  "You don't have to say anything, Kazu." She turned, and our eyes locked again. "I know that with everything that's happened that you might not be ready to accept my feelings. You don't have to; I just wanted to tell you how I feel, how I've felt for a long time."

  What have I done? I robbed her of this closure in my last life. How long did she carry those feelings before they died? Will I ever be able to return them?

  "Chika, I—"

  Before I could utter another word, something warm pressed against my mouth. Her eyes were closed, and her intoxicating smell pierced my nose. Time came to a complete stand still as people continued to pass and pretend not to see two high schoolers sharing a kiss. After only an eternity, she pulled away, her face was as red as I had ever seen it. Without saying a word, she gave me a childish smile and ran off.

  Whoever said your first kiss tastes like lemons lied. All I can taste is her vanilla latte.

  * * * * *

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  The day after my date with Chika, I got a phone call from Denki. I had just come back from a frigid run and was getting ready to do more ability training. With everything that had happened recently, I hadn't had much time for intricate experiments, so I had been focusing on keeping my reaction and activation time as fast as possible. After a couple of rings, I answered.

  "Hey buddy," he was as energetic as ever. "Listen, I know it's short notice, but what do you say we get everyone together for a New Year's Eve party?"

  "Another party? That sounds fun. Where would it be?"

  "My house, of course. Mom got stuck working that night anyway."

  "I'll call whoever you haven't already. What should I bring?"

  "Natsu already agreed, which means Nina doesn't have much choice," he said confidently before we both laughed. "Rito, Ino, and Kaori agreed as well. They're all bringing food again. Do you think you could grab drinks?"

  "I'll call everyone else too. I can't wait!"

  I hung up and immediately dialed Hiro. Before I could give any details, he agreed. He was clearly happy to do anything with our group, and it made me happy that we had taken him in. Even if he ended up not wanting to join us, we would have kept protecting him from bullies. No one deserves to be treated that way. After we hung up, I took a deep breath and dialed Chika's number.

  "Oh? What's this?" Chika answered almost instantly in a voice that I knew all too well. "It hasn't even been a day since our date, Kazu. Did you miss me that much?"

  "I'm surprised you can talk big after your little act yesterday," I replied in a similar voice. "I was just trying to see if you'd want to go to a New Year's Eve party with me."

  She went quiet for a minute before answering. "I'd like to go. Where are we going?"

  "Denki's house; now that you're on board, everyone will be there. I'll come pick you up. He didn't say anything in particular that you needed to bring, but I'll have to get drinks."

  After another silent minute, she spoke up again. "I'll no doubt have to accompany you to make sure you don't get dreadful drinks. I'll be waiting, Kazu." With that, she hung up.

  The day of the party came quickly, mostly because of the short notice. Snow still dusted the sidewalks, and the air brought a frigid kiss as I walked out to meet Chika. The route to her house that I had walked so many times before seemed brighter as I made my way leaving footprints in the white scenery. Before I could even ring the bell, she came out to me. She wore the same beanie that she had worn to the Christmas party and the blue coat that she had gotten on Christmas.

  "What do you think, Kazu?" She asked as she spun around, her coat almost flowing like a dress.

  "It suits you," I responded with a smile. I had given up on avoiding her traps.

  She gave a childish smile, and we set off to get drinks and join the party. If not for me, I'm sure she would have been the last one to arrive again, but I may have told her a much earlier time to get her moving faster. She had her games, and I had found one of mine.

  The walk to the convenience store was short. We passed by the park that my secrets had been revealed to her in. After vowing to keep my ability and past a secret, a growing number of people already knew. Chika, however, was the one that knew the most. For one reason or another, she accepted me even knowing it.

  She's definitely more than just a cutie.

  After grabbing drinks at the store and being teased for my choices, we made our way to Denki's house. Since it was a battle of habits, mine came out on top, and we were the second ones there after Hiro. Denki greeted us with a "loser" sign hanging from his neck. We walked in to see Daichi actually sweating as he faced Hiro in the fighting game. Hiro wore a much more serious face than I had ever seen on him. The sign suddenly made sense.

  One by one, everyone showed up. Nina and Natsu brought a few bags of party mix. Rito brought a few board games and a deck of playing cards. Ino and Kaori brought everything to make takoyaki and gyoza again. No one complained since it was to die for the last time. They also brought a number of baked goods they had worked together to make again. It was really good to have Ino's cooking again.

  "Who wants to play the king game?" Chika asked, holding up the numbered sticks.

  In an instant, fires burned in Denki's and Natsu's eyes. Even Hiro and Daichi seemed to have kindled a rivalry to be bolstered. Everyone had their own intentions as we drew numbers. Daichi was the first to be king.

  "Number 3, give your king a shoulder massage," he said with a smirk.

  "Yeah, yeah, whatever, 'your majesty.'" Denki was clearly upset but knew that this would be the least of his worries.

  "Number 8, bark like a dog," ordered Chika, the next king.

  After a moment of silence, Nina let out the most embarrassed sound that I had ever heard. Her face was beet red from the self perceived humiliation.

  "Numbers 6 and 9, hold hands," Kaori said with a devious smile.

  Angrily, Denki and Natsu grabbed each other's hands in something that resembled a test of strength. Everyone burst into laughter, and Nina took pictures to immortalize the moment. The game continued round after round. Even after everyone had been the king, most everyone still wanted to play. I ended up being ordered to give Kaori a foot massage, brush Hiro's hair, and act as a lap pillow to Daichi. The shared embarrassment made every moment one to remember forever despite wanting to forget.

  While Ino and Kaori took a few of us to help them in the kitchen, I couldn't help but look around at our mismatched group of friends. We had the embodiment of reliability, the embodiment of childish torment, a quiet genius, the unluckiest lucky leecher in the world, two gals, and two delinquents — Natsu was the one who still dressed like one while Nina tried to dress as a model student. Then there was me, an assassin in the body of a high schooler.

  Since I had come back, I had already changed the course of my future. Through saving Hiro, Ino, and Kaori, I found a drive to protect those close to me and those that can't protect themselves. By ending Nina's and Natsu's delinquency and ending Kawasaki's hold on them, I found a sense of justice and a monster that lies just below the surface. After almost a year, there were still questions.

  How did I even jump back this far? What is the real root of my ability? How did Makarov receive an application from me when I never sent one? How did Kawasaki know about me over five years early?

  My thinking was brought to an abrupt end. The loads of food I had eaten over the past week hit me like a sack of bricks, and I rushed to the bathroom. As I nearly fought for my life, I laughed thinking about how I accidentally stopped time when I tried to fight off my bladder after a biology test. I had gained much more control over my abilities since then, after all.

  As I was washing my hands, a new nightmare came to me. I turned my hands over to find the palms drenched in blood. My heart started pounding, and I tried desperately to wash it off to no avail.

  It's in your head, just keep washing. Breathe.

  I closed my eyes and took several long breaths. When I opened them, my hands were free of blood. The warm water washed the excessive amounts of soap down the drain. I turned off the water and looked up. My eyes were met by the cold stare of my ghostly former self. Frozen in place, his words spoke directly into my mind again.

  You'll never be rid of that blood, killer. You'll never be rid of me.

  "You don't own me anymore, Number 9," I replied boldly. "You and your dismal world died that day in the rain. This is my world. My life. And you will have no part in it."

  I left the bathroom and avoided the crowd scattered throughout the house. The night was young, and everyone was making the most of it through games, movies, and just talking. The only place that would leave me with my thoughts was Denki's room. As I entered, I remembered the sleepover and the revelation of our abilities. My thoughts lingered as I opened the glass door and stepped outside.

  Some of them need work, but we can tackle that when school starts again. I won't make them into weapons like I was made into one, but we need to be able to protect each other as well as anyone who needs it.

  As I stood on the balcony where Denki and I talked about the future, I took it all in one more time. The air was cold, and the many lights from Christmas still lit up the night. The future held so much uncertainty, but in that uncertainty, I found peace. Time became a memory as I took everything in.

  "Hey, buddy. What are you doing?" Denki asked as he walked outside. "You're going to miss the countdown!"

  We ran downstairs and joined our friends. Each of them had joined us for their own reasons, but through it all, they were still gathered here for this moment. The TV panned to the countdown on the Mayoral Mansion, and we counted down the last seconds of the year together.

  "10! 9!"

  We'll stick together from here on out.

  "8! 7!"

  Together, we'll face whatever challenge.

  "6! 5! 4!"

  Even when Eclipse comes, we'll be ready.

  "3! 2! 1!"