The remaining weeks of summer passed without incident; they passed with next to no interaction between me and my friends. After we all got back from the beach, everyone quietly went their separate ways once the realization of how quickly everything could have gone awry set in. We began to see just how lucky we were that we drew breath at the end of the day. Kawasaki and his crew were one thing, but a natural disaster was another beast entirely.

  I got all my summer reading done within a week of The Swell as it became known. As the previous summer, I spent several days with my sister between training sessions. She had begun packing her things for her move abroad, but the reality had yet to fully sink in. Once she left, I likely would not see her again until her graduation due to the level of intensity of the program. During a certain afternoon walk, we passed the park where I had often done my calisthenics training.

  "Hey, sis," I spoke up. "Do you remember the day of the solar flare all those years ago?

  "Hmm? Yeah, I guess so," she casually responded.

  "Do you remember what happened?"

  "Hmm," she curled her hand at her chin and looked to the sky. "I remember that you and the Tachibana girl had run out of the house to go play before I could throw on my shoes. I was walking to the park where we always went when the sky got bright. At that point, I took off in a dead sprint."

  She looked at me and down to the ground before pursing her lips to one side.

  "I guess it was just like the Crescent Stadium Disaster: all I could think about was protecting you. Only then, by the time I got to you two, it was over." She looked back at me. "Why?"

  "I've just been thinking of the flare and how it altered us, trying to find out why some people were changed while others remained unchanged. Those that were, I've been thinking about their abilities and what they could have come from. There's so much we don't know about it, and with everything that's happening, it's a bit scary."

  She wrapped herself around my arm.

  "Don't worry, Zuzu," she smiled. "Just like that day, I'll do everything I possibly can to protect you, even if you don't need it."

  "Oh? You'll fly across the ocean to come save me?"

  She went silent for a minute before answering. "I thought it would be best for you if your overbearing big sister went away for a bit, you know? Besides," she let go of my arm and looked to the sky again. "This university is one of the highest rated in the world for pre-medical degrees."

  I feel like I accidentally touched a nerve.

  "Okay, sis. Whatever you do, I'll be cheering for you."

  A haunting smile gripped her face as the words left my mouth. From the edges of it, she began to drool, and her eyes were filled with her unmistakable obsession.

  "Knowing that makes me want to stay so badly. Maybe I should just pack you in one of my bags instead."

  "And once again, you made it weird. Congratulations."

  "Zuzu," she whined. "Don't be mean to your big sister."

  "Let's just go get this shaved ice, already."

  My phone vibrated as we entered the small shop. The almost unnoticeably small wind chimes sang a gentle song as the warm summer breeze blew through them. We took one of the two booths and quickly ordered. I glanced at my phone before getting my snack to see a text from Denki. It was only when we left the shop after having our chilly fill that I saw what it was for.

  "Water Park, Tomorrow, 10:30 SHARP!"

  *  *  *  *  *

  I got off the bus at the station closest to the water park. As before, it was a warm walk the rest of the way since the sun was well into the sky. Denki had said that everyone would be meeting at the park, so there we would avoid clogging the entrance with our group. I had no idea how big of a group he had invited.

  "Hey, buddy!" Denki sang as he crashed into my back before I got to the gate.

  "Oh? You're early," I was genuinely surprised: it was barely 10:00 am.

  "Not really," he smirked. "Come on!"

  We paid our way into the park and changed in the expansive changing room as we had the year before. We both wore the same trunks as we had to the beach — no sense in buying several pairs if we would only go once or twice throughout the year. He dragged me along to one of the shaded huts, and the reason for his earliness became clear. Before us sat our entire group of friends.

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  "Surprise!" they yelled in unison.

  "I'm extremely confused right now," I muttered.

  "Well," Kaori stood up. "Since SOMEONE decided to not tell anyone about his birthday, we got together and planned a little something for a more fun time. Spring birthdays are a bit of a pain since it's still cold and all."

  "We wanted to thank you as well," Rito spoke up. "You've done a lot for all of us."

  "In all sorts of different ways," Ino hugged his arm.

  "Some more than others," Yamato added.

  "And all we've really done is pick up the slack when you fall short because you overwork yourself," Nina chimed in.

  "It's the least we could do, Kazu," Chika smiled. "After all, you're our friend."

  To that, everyone nodded in agreement. Denki stood behind me with his arms crossed and a victorious grin on his face. He knew I would show up way too early, so they planned all of this ahead of time just to surprise me. I felt the smile wash over my face as I began to laugh.

  "Thank you, truly. Thank you all. I don't deserve friends like you."

  "Okay, that's enough sappy," Natsu spoke up. "Are we eating first or getting wet?"

  "I swear, I can't take you anywhere," Nina covered her face in embarrassment as everyone began laughing again.

  We all decided to start by riding every ride in the park. From The Plunge to the Funnel Drop and back to the Castaway and Duo Racer. The high thrill rides brought ear-to-ear smiles to everyone's faces. I had been teamed up with Chika on the Duo Racer, and she spared nothing in teasing me the entire wait and ride itself. Denki and Natsu of course competed to see who would arrive at the bottom first to the cost of Kaori and Nina.

  Again, Rito's ability landed him square in Ino's backside when he emerged from the Plunge. Denki, Chika, and Kaori joined me in the Castaway, and I began to think of how our last trip to this park ended. Aoyama had been sent to drown Natsu and Nina, but we stopped him and at least showed the two of them that we were not enemies. I later found out that Aoyama never made it to the prison after being arrested: he had mysteriously been strangled to death during the transportation.

  Once we had our fill of the high thrill rides, we returned to the shaded hut to feast on the lunch that Ino and Kaori had provided for us. I was shocked when the master chefs only pulled out sandwiches, but after a single bite, I remembered who I was dealing with. Each bite was a fluffy slice of heaven; the simple yet bold flavors danced in my mouth. Everyone else seemed to be of the same mindset, judging by the content smiles on their faces.

  "Hey, Kazuma," Denki started as he sat down beside me. "Who was that other girl that was with us last year when we came? Yashimina? Yaoyorozu?"

  "Yamada?"

  "No, that doesn't sound right..." he scratched his head. "I'm sure it was Yaoyorozu. Right, Chika?"

  "Definitely Yaoyorozu," Chika agreed with a face stuffed full of her sandwich.

  What the hell? Her name was Yamada... I'm pretty sure...

  "Who wants to see who has the strongest stomach?" Natsu blurted out again. "Denki, Mashima girl, come on, you pansies. Back to the Funnel Drop!"

  While the two stooges infected Onodera with their idiocy, the rest of us relaxed under the shade. I stared at the ceiling thinking back to the previous year and trying to remember Yamada Shizune. Before I knew it, I had dozed off and was yanked back to consciousness by a cold can of soda caressing my armpit. I almost jumped through said ceiling only to see Chika and Kaori laughing at my misery. We all grouped up once I finally came down and set off. The Creek and The Wave Pools were our final stops.

  The warm sun lulled me back to sleep in the Creek, and I was left in peace for a time. I came back to when I felt someone grab onto my tube. A hand held the handle to my left, and its owner was Kaori who lifted her fashionable sunglasses and smiled at me. She and the other girls had worn the same suits from the beach as well, and the white on hers was almost blinding from the light. I grabbed the sides of my tube when I remembered who had put a cold can of soda in my armpit less than an hour prior.

  "Don't worry, Kazuma," she giggled. "I'm not anywhere near strong enough to flip you. Enjoying your late birthday surprise?"

  "Yeah, this is nice."

  "Good," she replaced her sunglasses and leaned her head back while holding on to my tube.

  "Why didn't you invite the Class C rep?” I asked, trying to support the two of them. He would have been a good fit, I think."

  "He was busy again," she yawned. "Besides, this is for you, and you two don't know each other outside of the council, don't you?"

  "Yeah, good point... hey, you remember Yama—"

  Before I could finish my question, I was flipped out of my tube. The cold rush of the water washed away any drowsiness that I had held on to. As I emerged from the water again, I saw the culprit, Denki. Without any hesitation, I pounced on him with every intention of taking him down. To my surprise, another set of hands pulled me off and replaced me in the water. Again, I popped up to see Natsu's goofy smile. Before I could get all the way up, I was in the air and landed in the water once again. The final time, I saw the third stooge taking her place between the others.

  Et tu Onodera?

  The four of us continued our dunking competition which became a free-for-all. After a couple of minutes, we were told to stop by the lifeguards that lined the Creek since we were getting too rough and too close to others. We left the Creek and spent the remainder of the day in The Wave Pools. As the sun began to fall from the sky, we all gathered our things and grouped up for one more photo after Kaori's begging and finding someone to take it. She sent it to us after we had all gone home, and I stared at my new group of friends. I noticed something wrong, though, and opened my laptop to fix it.

  The new photo was much better. In the center was Denki with myself under his left arm in a headlock and Natsu under his right in the same. Nina stood to Natsu's right with Kaori, Ino, and Rito off to hers. On my left stood Chika, Onodera, and Yamato. Right in the front, I placed a photo of Toshinori Hiro where he belonged, and before I saved the photo, I saw another familiar face in the background, Angelica Grey.

  I'll print this off tomorrow. Now for bed.

  I swear Yamada Shizune was her name... Am I remembering things wrong? Did the others forget her name? What the hell is going on?