RE Aoharu - 11

After losing consciousness in panic, I opened my eyes not to the containment room of Lobotomy Corporation, but to a rocking subway car. A thought suddenly struck me.

"...Which one was the dream?"

Was it me collapsing in my original body? Or was it me possessing Mika at Lobotomy Corporation? ...Or is it right now, here...? I was confused. Moreover, the voice I just spoke with wasn't my own. Even if this was a dream, the fact that my body was Misono Mika's hadn't changed. Why? Had I really become Misono Mika...?

Feeling like I was about to lose it again, I slapped my face to snap myself back. I felt no pain. In that case, it was certain,

"This is the dream, then☆"

They say you don't feel pain in dreams. I don't usually dream much, so I wouldn't know, but this time it was clear. Certain that it was a dream, I looked out the subway window. The sky was an odd color, one you wouldn't see in reality. It seemed fine to just stay put in a dream... but this was a dream in the midst of a crazy situation, so I thought there might be some meaning to it. As I was about to wander through the subway car,

"-...It was my mistake."

I heard someone else's voice.

"Huh...?"

I had made sure there was no one else in this car but me. So I was startled by the voice and turned around in surprise. Of course, the person speaking seemed unconcerned by my reaction. They continued speaking naturally...

"You, no... You are..."

The moment I saw the face of the person who had spoken to me, I took a step back. Because standing before me, in my dream, was...

"My decisions. And all the situations that resulted from them."

It was the General Student Council President from Blue Archive. The long, straight hair, the two-toned hair... And those lines, without a doubt, she was... the President. Once I was sure, I couldn't understand this situation. The President had said those words, yes, to the Sensei, right?

"Why... to me, in Mika's body..."

I was bewildered. Was she mistaking me for Sensei now? Or was it just... just a story someone had set up, and she was speaking to me like pressing a play button? Had she appeared just because it was a dream? That seemed like odd timing. Possessing Mika... and having this kind of dream,

"To only realize you were right after reaching this outcome..."

Right, no matter what reaction I showed, she didn't stop speaking. Rather, she continued as if my reaction was of no concern.

"So, though it's shameless of me, I beg of you."

She, who had been looking down, lifted her head to look at me. And she begged me, me. Was she recognizing me as 'me'? Not as Misono Mika?

"For a result other than this twisted, distorted end... So, please..."

As soon as she finished speaking, she stopped moving, like a doll with a smile frozen on her lips. I had so many questions for her, so much I wanted to hear... What were Sensei's feelings in the prologue of Blue Archive? For some reason, I felt like I was going to cry.

And... though it's selfish of me, I wished this were my reality. Her being here meant this was Kivotos... The stories of beautiful youth, bright stories, everything I had longed for...

"But... if this is a dream, I... I can't grant your request. And if it's a scene like this from the start, then, that's... not a bright story of youth, is it?..."

With a hint of tears in my eyes, I was about to approach her, who had stopped moving after leaving those words with me.

"But, if it's you, surely... you can break the cycle."

I quickly turned my head at another voice stopping me from behind. But there was no one there. Really... not a trace of anyone. As if no one had been there from the start, enough to make me think I had heard things.

"..."

Frowning, I turned back. The General Student Council President was gone. All that remained was the evidence that she had been here: bloodstains. Where had she disappeared to in that brief moment?... And again, bloodstains... I didn't want to see blood even in my dreams, so I covered my eyes with my hands.

"I hope... you will not stop, that you can disappear endlessly, that you can achieve that result."

In the midst of that, I heard another voice, and upon hearing what it said, someone flashed in my mind, and I turned back with a surprised expression to speak to them.

"Wait, you are-..."

....

I couldn't finish my sentence. I couldn't hear the person's reply to my words. Because I woke up from the dream.

"Hah... Hah"

Whether it was a nightmare or a sweet dream, I gasped for breath the moment I woke up. And I realized that it was definitely a dream. Because I had opened my eyes in the containment room again...

...

I closed my eyes to think about the dream I just had. Though it's more like escaping reality.

"You're finally awake. But you're going back to sleep?"