n

n

n- After School, Main Campus Rooftop -

nIt was the day Yu An Xue's sister had introduced herself under the alias of Amethyst. I was currently together with Feng Mian, Qing Yue, and Yu An Xue on the school rooftop, discussing the the person in question.

n

"So...you said that she understood sign language?

" Yu An Xue asked while furrowing her brows.

n

"Correct. She deduced what I meant, even though I didn't speak out loud at all,

" I replied. I had already reported what happened earlier today to her earlier, and we all scheduled this meeting to further deliberate the details.

n

"Could it be Psychic Magic instead?

" Feng Mian suggested.

"I remember basic mind-reading being a Level Three Magic, but maybe she's just exceptionally talented in it...

"

nYu An Xue immediately shook her head and dismissed the idea.

"For one, my sister never had the Psychic Element to begin with. She possesses Sky and Fire aptitude, in stark contrast with my Water and Ice.

"

n

"Eh...Fire and Sky, huh? Two of the most destructive elements...

" Qing Yue remarked, nodding to herself.

n

"Indeed. Furthermore, being able to use Level Three Magic - in other words, being an Advanced Mage - at this young age of 14, is unheard of.

"

n

"Though from what I can tell, Xuan Kai's Level One magic is already on par with a Level Three one in terms of power...

" Feng Mian added with a sigh.

n

"Hey...I don't know how it works either,

" I interrupted, hearing my name pop up.

n

"...He's an exception.

" Yu An Xue shrugged off Feng Mian's input with a brief sentence, marking me as an 'exception'. I mean...in a good way, or a bad way? I guess a month ago, it would be the bad way. But now that I had magic, and such a special type at that, I suppose it's the good way now.

n

"Okay okay! I think we're getting off track here.

" Qing Yue, noticing that fact, quickly guided us back to the matter at hand.

"If it isn't Psychic Magic, it's gotta be that she really knew sign language then, right?

"

nThe rest of all us all nodded slowly. I realized something, turned to Yu An Xue, and asked,

"By any chance, do you know how she learned sign language?

"

nIf she had learned if after she was taken away, then obviously Yu An Xue wasn't going to know. But if she learned it earlier...

n

"Yes. The two of us had decided to learn sign language years ago, to allow for secret communication between the two of us,

" Yu An Xue replied, which made me exhale in relief.

n

"That makes things easier then,

" I said, now more relaxed than before. The others weren't so eased, however. They all stared at me with confusion. I sighed and explained what I was thinking.

"Okay...let me break it down. One, Amethyst had learned sign language together with Yu An Xue when they were young, years ago. Two, she STILL understood it, even today. What does that mean?

"

nThe three of them weren't stupid. After I laid things out bare like that, they all understood fairly quickly, though Qing Yue was the first.

n

"Ah! I see! So Amethyst still has some of her memories from before she was taken!

"

nI nodded.

"But it also looks like she doesn't remember who Yu An Xue is, so...

"

n

"...She only has fragments of her memory intact. And only the ones that involved knowing how to do things - pure skills, not any people.

" Feng Mian finished.

nYu An Xue grimaced, and her elegant face was evidentially filled with pain.

"So...she's essentially turned into a machine, with no memories of anyone...she's known in the past...

"

nShe seemed like she was fighting back her tears, not letting her weakness show in front of us. Now that I thought about it, I was the only one that had seen her frail, lonely side, huh? I hastened to comfort her.

n

"Not necessarily,

" I said, shaking my head.

"Memories are a part of a person. They cannot be forcibly taken away, and taking away only a select part of them is even more impossible.

"

nMy mother had taught me this before she had been assassinated. Looking back...she probably knew that day was coming, and that's what made her say this to me beforehand - so I would forever remember her in my heart, regardless if she is alive or not.

nIt was just a pathetic way to comfort me...but nonetheless, what she said was true. She was an expert in Psychic and Curse Magic both, along her other elements, meaning she had a fairly in depth understanding of memories and how they could be manipulated.

nYu An Xue blinked away any lingering sadness, and looked at me.

"What do you mean by that...?

"

n

"...The memories inside of her. They aren't gone, but sealed.

"

n

"...Sealed?

"

n

"Indeed. You could almost think of it as her having 'forgotten' you, in a literal sense. But that doesn't mean she doesn't know who you are.

"

nYu An Xue looked away and murmured quietly,

"I'm still confused...

"

nThis was when Qing Yue jumped in.

"Basically, what Big Brother Xuan Kai is saying, is that there's still a way to make her remember you again.

"

n

"Yep,

" Feng Mian joined in as well.

"What's the best way to remember something you've forgotten?

"

n

"...Be reminded of it,

" Yu An Xue answered, a hint of a smile on her lips. She then bowed down deeply.

"Thank you, everyone. I know what I have to do now.

"

nQing Yue and Feng Mian both smiled in return like true friends, and quickly stopped Yu An Xue from bowing.

"We're friends, right? No need to be so formal,

" Feng Mian beamed.

n

"That's right! Just tell your sister once she remembers everything again not to ever call my Big Brother Xuan Kai something weird like 'onii-chan' again!

"

nYu An Xue smiled faintly, but it wasn't merely a hint anymore. She had truly begun to get closer to others, the three of us in particular. Perhaps...her sister could do the same, once she was saved from this nightmare.

nI decided to add one last thing.

"Be careful though - it won't be easy. But I'll say this again - I trust you. I believe you can do this.

"

nYu An Xue blushed slightly, and avoided my gaze.

"Y-Yes...thank you.

"

nThe other two girls narrowed their eyes and stared at me, unamused, but that's a story for another day.

n*****

n- The Next Day -

nIt was morning once more, and time for school. Just like how I've done for the past week, I got to school earlier than everyone else, in order to talk to Amethyst. However, today, Yu An Xue was with me, and in her hands held a bag. We stood outside the classroom, and were just about to head in.

n

"What's in there?

" I said, pointing to the luggage she was carrying.

nShe sighed.

"I don't know if this is going to work or not...but I gathered all the different things I thought could make her remember all the time we spent together...

"

nIt was a broad explanation, but it was enough. I didn't want to dig too deep, and besides, retelling the story of each item in there would probably take hours. We unfortunately did not have that kind of pleasure, to sit around relaxing for that long. Her sister had arrived at this school suddenly, and may leave just as abruptly.

nAnd furthermore, I had an indescribable feeling that she didn't come of her own volition - someone had instructed her to do so. Why else would she purposefully get close to me like that? It just didn't make any sense.

nWe entered the room, and unsurprisingly, we found the beautiful purple-haired and purple-eyed girl - Amethyst - sitting once more at my old desk, which she had so conveniently 'stole'. As she noticed the two of us immediately (only me in reality - it seems that she didn't care about other people at all) and stood up, I wondered what kind of personality she would put up today.

nThe two of us walked closer to her, and she turned to face me. Suddenly, she whipped out a knife from behind her back and had it on Yu An Xue's throat before I could even react. Yu An Xue leapt back a safe distance, but Amethyst continued charging at her at inhuman speeds. My eyes widened, and I quickly grabbed her by the back of her collar to rein her in.

nI just barely caught her, and even then she was still frantically trying to escape. I grabbed her arm and wrestled the knife out of her hands, and forced her to sit down back in her chair. Yu An Xue was panting exasperatedly, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

nAmethyst, on the other hand, continued to stare at Yu An Xue with a murderous, twisted smile painted over her face. I didn't know if this was a good thing or not - on one hand, she had finally noticed someone apart from myself without me telling her to, but on the other, the first thing she wanted to do was kill her. Running out of options, I placed my hands on either side of her face and turned her head towards me.

n

"Okay...calm down. Calm down, okay?

" I whispered, clasping her ears tightly.

nAfter a short while, the murderous gleam on her face disappeared and I let go, breathing out in relief. She then pointed at Yu An Xue, still bent over and panting, and asked,

"Who...is...she?

"

nIt seems that the worst has come. The personality I least wanted, the classic YANDERE. I never really understood these characters. I remember in that one manga I read that Qing Yue recommended...F*ture D*ary, was it? There was a yandere in that one, I believe. I'm not scared of much...but that, I was pretty terrified of.

n

"She's...a friend,

" I replied, implying 'friend and nothing more', in order to make her relax.

"Do you...want to try talking to her? And apologize for what you did earlier.

"

nAmethyst looked confused, but nodded regardless. I motioned for Yu An Xue to come over. Perhaps if they started as friends...?

n

"Um...hello,

" Yu An Xue initiated the conversation nervously, and I gave a reassuring smile.

n

"...Hello,

" Amethyst replied. She then looked at me once more for confirmation, and I nodded in return.

"I'm...sorry...for just now...

"

nYu An Xue quickly stopped her.

"Um, n-no worries! J-Just please don't do that again, out of the blue...

"

nAmethyst nodded twice.

"I...won't...

"

nSomehow, seeing her talk like this was kind of cute, but then I remembered her killing frenzy from just a moment ago and immediately dismissed the thought. Yanderes...truly fearsome.

n

"G-Great! Then that's settled...

" Yu An Xue muttered. She then fished through the bag she was carrying from earlier, and took out a...violet flower petal.

"Hey...do you know what this is?

"

nAmethyst squinted her eyes, and expectation arose in Yu An Xue's and my heart, but then she shook her head, shattering our hope.

n

"I-I see...that's okay. What about this?

" Yu An Xue continued, and took out a neatly packaged...candy? She held it out to Amethyst, who took it with both hands.

n

"This...is...?

" she frowned in confusion. Yu An Xue hurriedly urged her to just peel it open and give it a try.

nAmethyst did as she was told, and placed the candy in her mouth. It was a Nian Gao (year cake), a type of chewy and delicious treat.

"It...is...good...

" Amethyst murmured, mouth still full of food.

n...But it didn't seem like she had any reaction other than that. I decided to step in. I dragged Yu An Xue outside, away from Amethyst.

"Yu An Xue...do you have anything more direct?

"

n

"...Direct?

"

n

"Yeah. The things you've been showing right now are too...broad, I think, to be of any use,

" I explained.

n

"...I see...I have a picture of the two of us when we were young, do you think that could work?

"

n

"...It definitely has a higher chance of succeeding than the things you've shown her so far,

" I replied.

"And also, try...using her real name.

"

n

"Her real name...

" Yu An Xue echoed.

n

"That's right. What is it anyway? I've been meaning to ask you, but just keep forgetting.

"

nShe took a deep breath.

"It's...Yu An Yan.

"

n