The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 1: Chapter 14

27,755^th Time

“Hey, do you notice anything different about me today? Anything at all?” asks Kokone, her features as familiar as ever. I know she’s directed this question at me before. What was the answer again?

“…You’re wearing mascara.”

“Ooh! I knew you’d get it right!”

Looks like I chose the correct response.

“…So what do you think?”

“Yeah. ’Scute.”

This smoothly delivered answer also turns out to be correct. My tone wasn’t entirely serious, but Kokone grins and nods as if the word “cute” is enough to satisfy her.

“Hmm, I see you’ve got a lot of promise, Kazu. Maybe that failure of a human being over there could learn a few things from you.”

Kokone folds her arms smugly across her chest and turns her head towards Daiya.

“If you’re gonna go around saying that, then the quick death of a bitten tongue might be the best option.”

“You’d be doing the world a favor, so by all means, go ahead.”

“I meant your tongue.”

“Ha! Does that mean you’re hoping for a deep, passionate kiss? I know I’m adorable, but you’ve got to get ahold of yourself.”

And with that Daiya and Kokone begin their usual rapid-fire exchange of insults and abuse, completely oblivious to any change in my behavior.

Eventually, Daiya brings up the new transfer student arriving today.

Otonashi can’t arrive soon enough.

✵

“I’m Aya Otonashi. I have no use for any of you except Kazuki Hoshino and the owner of a certain item.”

The classroom is instantly in an uproar.

Uh, hey, Otonashi? You’re a transfer student, so it’s easy for you to put some distance between yourself and the class, but I’ve been a part of this class for almost a year. I can’t really do the same.

“What does she mean by ‘owner’? Who owns what? Is she talking about someone connected to Hoshino?”

“I think she’s just talking about his girlfriend.”

“So Hoshino has a girlfriend, and this transfer student Otonashi is looking for her? I wonder why.”

“There’s probably something going on between him and this Otonashi girl, too! Maybe they’re going out…or maybe he’s cheating on his girlfriend with her!”

“Yeah, that has to be it! That version is more interesting, so let’s go with that!”

“I bet Otonashi got herself tangled up in a messy love-hate relationship with our playboy Hoshino and transferred here in pursuit of him.”

“That means Hoshino managed to seduce a hottie like her! Lucky bastard!”

The story spirals onward as everyone ignores that I’m sitting right here. Where the hell are they coming up with this stuff?!

“Actually…Kazu has been stringing me along…,” Kokone comments.

“What?! You’re the other woman?”

“No…I think I was more of a side fling. I was, like, the third girl in his harem, but I’m pretty sure there were lots of others.”

“Tch… Damn, what a player!”

Kokone fakes a few tears, and even Daiya contributes to the chaos with a few uncharacteristically loud remarks. It figures they’d choose now to team up, the jerks.

“…What a mess,” I hear Otonashi mutter. “I was trying to keep my distance from the class, but now I’m right in the middle thanks to you.”

Uh…are you sure it’s really myfault?

✵

As soon as first period ends, Otonashi and I make a mad dash from the classroom. Naturally, this sets everyone off, with a few of the boys in particular shooting me dirty looks, but I pay none of it any mind.

We arrive at the usual spot behind the school.

No more class for us.

“I see. Now I know that the trade-off for winning you over to my side is being mired in all your relationships. Damn… What a pain!”

Um, no, the real issue is with how you introduced yourself.

“But this is the first time in 27,755 transfers that giving the class the cold shoulder has become a disadvantage. It’s truly interesting.”

“Well, you may be having fun with it, but I’m certainly not…”

“Don’t be like that. I can get a little excited when I come across something new like this. I never imagined cooperating with you would change things so much. This is a welcome opportunity for us.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we could come across some new facts I might not have found on my own.”

When she puts it that way, working together might make this all worth it. But still…

I have to admit Otonashi is onto something, though. After all, she had no idea what Class 1-6 was like before today. She had no point of comparison. One good example is how she had no clue my feelings for Mogi appeared suddenly between yesterday and today—in other words, during the loops of the Rejecting Classroom.

“But how exactly do we proceed from here?”

“…That’s the thing, Kazuki. Perhaps you hold the key to the Rejecting Classroom.”

“Huh? So does that mean you still suspect me?”

“Not at all. Let me ask you this: Why do you retain your memories?”

“Uh…I don’t know?”

“It’s puzzling, right? There’s definitely something about you that sets you apart from the other people here, but even then, doesn’t it seem strange that you’re the only one with memories from before?”

“Well…yeah, of course.”

“My theory is that this is also part of the owner’s plan.”

“Uhhh…”

“You’re as slow as ever. Basically,allowing you to hold on to your memories is one of the end goals of the owner.”

So me retaining my memories is part of the purpose of the Rejecting Classroom? “That’s not possible. I don’t always keep them, you know. If it weren’t for you, I might have lost them like everyone else.”

“That’s definitely a wrench in my theory. Still, there’s a distinct possibility that the flaw in how the Rejecting Classroom redoes the past is the same as the one allowing your memory retention. If we think of it in the simplest terms, the ‘bug in the system’ could be that you holding on to your memory is messing up the rewind.”

It certainly does seem possible, but it’s still all so vague and hard to swallow.

“What would be the point in allowing me to keep my memories?”

“As if I’d know that.”

…She says that with derision.

“But I do know what emotion above all others stirs people to action.”

“Which one?”

Otonashi fixes me with something akin to a glare as she continues.

“Romantic feelings.”

“…Romantic…?”

The look on her face is borderline scary, so I don’t process the words straightaway.

I get it now, though. Romantic feelings. Love. Yes.

“That sounds pretty cute coming from you.”

She fixes me with a chilly gaze.

“What’s cute about it? Love that obsessive is basically the same thing as hate.”

“The same thing as hate?” I’m perplexed. “…B-but they’re totally different…”

“They’re the same… Well, I suppose they are a bit different, actually. This kind of love can be an even more vicious emotion than hate if the person is truly unaware their feelings are tainted. It’s absolutely horrifying.”

Horrifying…

“That’s enough talk about that. Do you have any ideas, Kazuki?”

“You mean of someone who might have feelings for me? There’s no way anyone could…”

My voice trails off as something trips my memory.

There is someone.

At least, as long as that phone call asking me to meet up wasn’t some sort of prank.

“You’ve thought of someone, haven’t you?”

“…”

“What is it?”

“…Uh, so. Just because someone likes me doesn’t automatically make them the culprit, right?”

“Of course not. That wouldn’t be enough to conclude they’re the owner of the Box. We’d still need to investigate them, though.”

“No…well… It’s just that this person couldn’t be the one responsible for all this.”

“What makes you so sure they aren’t?”

I know why. It’s that I just don’t want them to be.

“As long as we’re in the Rejecting Classroom, we have an infinite number of opportunities to find them. If there’s even the slightest chance they could be the culprit, we have to follow up on it.”

“…But that way of doing things hasn’t ever succeeded before, right?”

“I must have touched a nerve. Yes, that’s right, but the idea that the owner wants you to retain your memory is an entirely new perspective. I’ve never started my investigations from there. We may be able to glean some information I never could before.”

“But—”

“If you really trust them so much, wouldn’t you want to clear up any possible doubts about them?”

Of course. She’s right.

The truth is that I do have doubts, and I’m afraid of what we might find if we started digging.

“…All right, I understand now. I’ll help you.”

“You shouldn’t be helping. You should be taking the lead.”

…She’s right about that, too. I’m the one who wanted out of the Rejecting Classroom, after all.

There’s something that’s bothering me, though. Something feels really off.

“At any rate, let’s get to work.”

“H-hold on a sec.”

“What’s there to hesitate about?! I’ve had about as much of this as I can take!”

What seems so wrong…? Oh yeah. That has to be it.

“What’s the matter, Kazuki? Your face is red.”

“Uh, well, it’s just that…”

Why is she calling me Kazuki instead of Hoshino?

“What? You aren’t making any sense. Hey, why are you blushing?”

“…S-sorry, just forget about it.”

When did she start calling me by my first name? Not even my parents call me that.

My face must be getting even redder.

“…? You’re strange. Anyway, we need to get moving.”

Otonashi turns around and walks off.

“O-okay…”

Maybe I should start calling her something besides Otonashi. Maybe call her Aya like she calls me by my first name.

…Whoa, whoa, whoa!! Nope, nope, not a chance, absolutely not!!

Maybe something like “Miss Aya”… No, that’s really stilted. Going by her last name puts too much distance between us now that we’re working together, too. I need something more easygoing…

“Uh…”

Only one thing comes to mind. It’s going to be really hard to say, but I’ve said the name several times already, so I should be able to get used to it.

“…Maria.”

I say it softly, just to test it out, but Otonashi instantly stops and turns around. Her eyes are wide in surprise.

“Ack! S-sorry!!”

Her acute reaction makes me apologize reflexively.

“…Why are you sorry? You caught me off guard, that’s all.”

“…You’re not mad?”

“No need to be. You can call me whatever you want.”

“I—I see…”

Otonashi—no, Maria—smiles a bit.

“Still, ‘Maria’ of all names… Heh-heh.”

“Ah, well, if it bothers you…”

“I don’t care. You just reminded me of something, though.”

“Uh… What?”

For some reason, Maria smiles kindly.

“That you’re a funny guy, Kazuki.”