Kuroha-san was out yesterday. Think she's out again?
She just transferred in, but she's already missed so much.
Kuroha-san?
What happened?
She's covered in bandages...
Kuroha? What happened to you?
A cold.
Don't screw around! Colds can't do that to you!
It's okay. I'll be able to go to the beach.
Kuroha didn't end up telling me what caused her injuries.
Then, the next day,
Kuroha didn't come to school.
Athanatic Pills
Neko! Neko! Get a hold of yourself!
Neko!
I knew something was up!
Neko! Neko!
Say something! Neko!
Kuroha...
Kuroha!
What happened? Hang in there!
Are you okay?
Please...
Take me to the kitchen...
That drawer over there...
We magicians need to take one of these athanatic pills every day.
If we don't, in 30 hours, our skin will start to come apart,
and blood will come pouring out of our bodies.
After 35 hours, our organs melt and we die.
These ten pills are all we have left.
Five days' worth for the two of us.
These pills are our very lives.
She was trying to stretch them out...
I was trying to stretch them out as long as possible, but it doesn't look like I'll see the ocean.
All because I asked her to go...
I'll be fine.
I've had my medicine, so all I need is a little rest.
Don't feel guilty.
I wanted to see the ocean for myself.
For some reason, it feels like I've yearned for it since long, long ago.
Where's Neko?
Sleeping in the kitchen.
Where did you get those pills?
The laboratory is the only place you should be able to find them.
But we were being transferred between facilities when we escaped, so we have no idea where the laboratory is.
I see.
We only have five days left to live.
So I have a request for you.
Let us eat cake these last five days.
I have to wash this off...
Hot water...
What are you doing?
Are you feeling better already?
I'm fine. All I needed was the athanatic.
The wounds heal quickly.
I see.
Kana asked me to do this.
She said that if I didn't have anything better to do, I should split some firewood.
Hey.
That's way too much firewood.
We won't be able to use that much.
Their deaths aren't set in stone yet.
We just need a way to get more of those pills.
Hey, your house is on fire!
How did this happen?
I was boiling some water...
I'll go get Kana!
You blow away the kitchen and extinguish the fire!
What's with the smoke?
Kana! We have to get out!
Watch it!
Get your grubby hands off my breasts!
Shut up!
You're sure heavy for someone with such a small chest!
Did Kuroha get it?
Let's go!
Wow. You put it out already.
I'm sorry.
What's wrong?
Kana-chan, I'm sorry.
All the athanatics...
...burned up.
The last time Kana-chan took a pill was yesterday.
It's... it's all my fault!
Don't cry, Neko.
Don't worry about it. All it means is that we're going to die a little sooner.
But I don't want to suffer the pain of dying from not having the medicine.
So Neko, can you kill me before that happens?
Crush me quickly and painlessly.
Damn it. Isn't there anything we can do?
Think. Think!
We're still okay.
We just need to get some more pills from the source— Dresden Pharmaceuticals' Takayama factory.
How do you know that?
I memorized the pills' serial number.
The DR is for Dresden Pharmaceuticals.
623 is the type of pill.
G corresponds to the specific factory.
In our case, that's the Takayama factory.
Is it normal to know all that?
It was in a book on medicine I read once.
I have a pretty good memory.
Everything I've ever seen is etched into my brain as if my eyes were a scanner.
It's nothing compared to you guys, but it's like my own special ability.
But that also means I can't forget some things that I'd rather not remember.
It can be agonizing.
That's nothing.
It's much more depressing when you forget things you wish you could remember.
I suppose you're right...
Hey.
What do we do now?
We don't have much time.
Let's look up the factory's location using the computer in the observatory.
I can carry her.
It's fine. She's pretty heavy.
By the way, can't you carry her using your powers?
No. All my power can do is destroy.
I can transmit some of my power if I touch a person directly,
but delicate movements are impossible.
I see.
Wait, then when you beat me at arm wrestling...
Let's just be glad your arm is in one piece.
So you wouldn't have cared if you broke my arm?!
This is leading nowhere. There's no data on those pills anywhere.
But at least we know where the factory is.
We can make it there today if we take the bus and train.
The biggest problem is the security.
We can ask Kazumi for help with that.
Kazumi?
She ran away from the laboratory with us.
Kazumi-chan can do anything through the internet.
She's the one who helped me transfer into your school.
Kazumi-chan might be able to disable the security for us if we ask her.
But she's going to charge a hefty sum.
She's going to take money from her friends?
Not money. Kazumi takes her payment in athanatics.
So you pay with days off your life?!
Kuroha and Kana sold days from their own lives to save mine.
But we don't have any pills left to give her.
We have to ask her to accept some of the pills we plunder as payment.
CQ, CQ. Kazumi-chan?
Kazumi-chan, please respond.
Can you not come callin' so often?
You're just makin' it easier for 'em to catch me.
Kazumi-chan, we need your abilities again.
Huh? That's fine, but you gotta pay up front.
Sorry. We don't have any more pills.
Kazumi-chan?
Well, ain't that a pity.
But I ain't workin' for free.
Wait.
We're going to the factory where the pills are made.
We'll pay you with the pills we swipe.
So you're wantin' me to disable their security for ya?
Sounds interesting! Sure, I'll help.
My price is half of whatever you manage to plunder.
Hey, don't take advantage of her!
Wait, who are you?!
Neko, Kana!
Don't tell me you girls got some outsider involved!
You know full well that if they catch you, they'll kill him too!
I know what I'm in for.
Then I guess it's fine.
Back to the point, can you really disable their security for us?
It's an impossible feat for a human.
But I'm a magician, ya know.
Finding any encryption key'll be a cinch for me.
If she can really do that, she has the ability to wreak havoc on all aspects of modern society.
Neko, run!
What happened?
She saw a forecast.
Kana-chan, what did you see?
Neko, you're going to be killed!
You'll be cut clean into two!
Neko! You can't go to the factory!
We have a log of a search done using the pill's ID number.
From where?
They've hidden themselves using IP address masking and layers of overseas proxies.
It will take some time to unravel.
No matter. We'll just have to dispose of them the conventional way.
Arise, Saori. Exterminate the deserters.
If you fail, you will be put to death.
Roger.
I'm... going to die?
It's Saori. She's going to ambush you at the factory.
Saori? Isn't she that AA-ranked girl?
What does AA mean?
Magicians are sorted by rank.
It goes from AAA at the top to C at the bottom.
For reference, we're all B-rank.
They were about to dispose of us.
We had become obsolete.
Their magic is only B-rank?
Saori is a AA. A hybrid that can use two kinds of A-class magic.
We don't stand a chance against her.
How often are Kana's forecasts wrong?
Almost never.
But once we know the future, we can change it.
Once you've changed the future, I get a new vision.
If I don't, that means you failed to affect the forecast.
Because of your forecast, we found out that she was waiting for us.
We can definitely change the future.
Hold on. The fact that they stationed her at the factory means they might've also taken the pills somewhere else.
Hey, Kazumi. You still have some pills left, right?
Think you could share some with us?
What? Don't talk nonsense.
Are you telling me to die sooner?
Stop running your mouth. Learn your place, doofus!
Don't worry.
They're not planning on letting us live anyway.
They wouldn't go out of their way to remove the pills.
So we have no choice but to bet it all on a factory raid.
What kind of magic does Saori use?
One kind is an offensive slashing type.
She can slice open anything within a six-meter radius.
And her other power...
We've installed a beacon on your harness.
If you attempt to run away, it will eject and kill you.
Don't try anything foolish.
In all our plans, the prevailing roadblock is this Saori person.
A magician's magic can be disabled by hitting a switch on her harness.
A harness?
This contraption.
There are three switches. The one on the right is the hang-up button.
Press it, and the magician's magic will be disabled.
The one on the left is an eject button. Hitting it will kill the magician.
However, harnesses are immune to the effects of magic.
We won't be able to hit or destroy it with magic.
So we have to get up close and press it manually.
By the way, what does the third switch do?
I don't know.
All I've heard is that it causes something even more horrific than death.
No one has been brave enough to press it, and I've never seen it pressed either.
Something more horrific than death...
Well, we know what we have to do now.
No. There's no new forecast.
No matter how much we plan, the future isn't changing.
Neko! You can't go!
You'll be killed!
Will this guy die?
"This guy?"
That guy probably won't die.
"That guy?!"
I see. Then it's fine.
Our plan will work.
What kind of logic is that?
There's no point if you die.
Hey.
I have a request for you.
Don't let Neko use too much magic.
If she overuses her magic, her harness might automatically hang up.
Also, whenever Neko uses her power, she loses something important.
Something important?
Yo.
Your train's gonna leave without ya.
Hurry up and go.
Oh, yeah..
Kana-chan, hang tight.
I'll be back with your medicine.
Be careful out there.
Both of you.
All right, let's go.
I'm sorry, Kana...
I don't have any pills to give you.
But I gotta live until at least 12 o'clock to see the plan through...
We're countin' on ya, Neko.
What are you doing?
Don't look!
Are you drawing pictures?
Why would I be drawing?!
Well, you don't know how to write, do you?
Don't make fun of me. I can write anything with hiragana.
That's the factory.
Just as we planned, you go through the front gate and draw Saori's attention.
I'll go around the back, sneak up on her, and hit the switch on her harness.
If you run into her, make a loud noise so I know where she is.
Got it?
Hey, I have a request for you.
Once you get inside, read this letter.
Is this what you were working on earlier?
I'm counting on you.
What was that?
It's time.
It's 12 o'clock. Come through for us, Kazumi.
All right!
Kuroha's gotten started.
Oh, yeah. Her letter...
She's so stupid.
No... it's hopeless.
What are ya goin' on about?
I'm not seeing any new visions.
Neko is going to die.
Neko, don't tell me you planned this from the start!
What an imbecile you must be to go through the front door.
Long time no see, Neko.
Obsolete magician unwilling to kill, let me put you out of your misery.
That girl...
I'll distract Saori-chan.
While I do that, grab the pills and run.
Don't try to save me.
If I can use my life to save Kana-chan and Kazumi-chan,
I'll have turned my one life into two.
She planned to sacrifice herself from the start!
It's true that her way, there's a higher chance that we'll be able to save Kana and Kazumi.
But...
As if I could live with that!
What? What happened?
The forecast changed!
That Murakami guy is also going to die!
They'll both be killed!
Stop! Why do we have to kill each other?
Kill each other?
Don't be dumb. This is a mere one-sided slaughter.
Damn you!
Don't bother resisting. There's nothing in this world I can't cut.
I don't care if I die.
But I have to distract Saori-chan until he finds the medicine.
Over there!
Oh? Cornered already?
Damn it!
It hung up!
There goes your magic.
So that's Saori?
Aren't those...
They're Kuroneko's moles!
Why? They weren't there before.
I see!
When she grew, the moles must have shifted!
It really is her!
Thank goodness...
Kuroneko is alive!
But...
Just you wait, Kuroneko.
But why don't you remember me?
Don't let Neko use too much magic.
...she loses something important.
It's much more depressing when you forget things you wish you could remember.
I get it. The important thing she loses is her memory.
Everything makes sense now.
It's okay if she doesn't remember me.
We just have to make more memories going forward!
Why? Why did you come?!
You'll be killed!
Begging for your life? Not a chance.
Run away! Please!
What a fool.
I...
I've lost Kuroneko again!
And her other power...
No, we can still...
We can still pull through!
kagayaku hoshi miagete
We've always admired
itsumo akogareteta na
the shining stars we gazed upon.
ashita wo yume minagara
And dreaming of tomorrow,
koi wo shite mitari
we played games of affection.
nai mono nedari de
I begged for something that wasn't there,
shiawase wa hito sorezore to
and you taught me that happiness
oshiete kureta ne
was different for everyone.
sonna kimi ga suki de nee
That's why I like you so much.
watashi wa ima koi ni ochita
Now, I'm enraptured
ichibanboshi
by the first star of the night
onegai shite
so I make a wish:
douka kimi to itsumo issho ni ireru you ni
"May I get to be with you forever"
watashi wa ima hajimete shiru
Now, I've come to understand
koi wa setsunai
that loving can be rough,
kurushiku naru demo ai wa tottemo
but hard as things can get, love itself is
hora atatakai mono nanda
a very warm thing.