He can't be dead.

He can't be. Not now, not after all this. Not after he faced his inner demons so calmly and gracefully with his trusted electric guitar. Not after he had somehow managed to remain alive for so many years despite the strange (to say the least) conditions he had been put through. Not after I have finally, after this whole year of failing at mindhacking, realized that there is indeed a form of mindhacking I can do and Ikoma-san can tell me all about it.

This sounds as selfish as ever and I regret it the second I think it. Ikoma-san has gone to a better place, leaving behind who knows how many grieving family members and friends, yet here I am feeling melancholy just because the one person who could become my mentor is no longer alive.

But it's hard not to feel that way. I mean, ever since Ikoma-san had talked to me on the roof of the power plant (which admittedly was only a short while ago), I had felt the hope stirring in me. The hope that I can learn to become a much better mindhacker that I even imagined I could be, with the guidance of this brown-haired, twinkly-eyed man, the only person I've met since the start of the school year who connected with me, who really understood what it was like for me.

Not even Izumi understands. Nor Shun. But just by the brief two-minute conversation I had with Ikoma-san, I knew he did. He knew what it's like to be an anomaly. To be unable to "believe". And to finally find something that I can actually do, something that doesn't require "believing" to be done.

I realize how self-obsessed this sounds, but I would be lying if I said I hadn't been looking forward to learning more from him, to discuss more with him. Now I'll no longer have the chance.

It's totally understandable, though. Ikoma-san had been on life support for some ten years. It's not like comatose patients regularly sit up easily like nothing's the matter and smile and walk out muttering "man it's been ten years since I last peed" or something.

Totally understandable. So why do I feel like there were a hole in my heart?

I feel someone patting me on my back. Natsumi. I stifle a sob.

"Did he... at least... die peacefully?"

Natsumi's eyes widen. "Oh goodness no! Ikoma-san isn't dead. He's not that okay considering he's been in a coma for so many years and you don't just wake up from a coma and start running around like a triathlon athlete, but Miss Furukawa says she and her friends will make sure his recovery is smooth and stuff—"

She stops, seeing my hopelessly flabbergasted expression.

"I get how confused you must be," she says sympathetically. "We're just as confused as you are, actually, but I'm sure Miss Furukawa will be able to explain later."

I continue to stare, mouth hanging open stupidly. How does Miss Furukawa, the long-legged assistant teacher, even come into the picture? The last thing I remember about her is her being knocked out after the attack situation in which Jin got killed. Had she turned into a mindless walker like the rest of the staff? Had she not turned into a mindless walker like the rest of the staff? I have no idea. In fact, to be quite honest, I had completely forgotten the fact that she existed for the past few hours.

Questions swarm in my head like mad bees trapped in a bag of shake-shake fries. I already have enough questions, and the fact that Miss Furukawa of all people is somehow involved just gives birth to even more questions.

I clearly can't ask all the questions at once, but I decide to start with the zombie people, since that is one of the most pressing matters at the current moment. "So, um, Miss Furukawa isn't sleepwalking like the rest of them? What happened to the sleepwalkers anyway?"

"We found the way to revert them to their normal state," Yukiya explains, failing miserably to hide the pride in his voice. "Yamada and co. stored that info in one of Ikoma-san's boxes and Riri and I found it."

"The sleepwalkers were this close to descending upon us when I noticed that everyone's stats were calming down, so I pulled them out," Katsuki reminisced.

"And then Yukiya and Riri told Katsuki about how to un-brainwash the sleepwalkers because he's the best with machines. So he went to tweak with the machines while we covered him, and then boom! All the teachers and senpai look normal again!" Daisuke concludes with a cheer.

"They were all very muddled, naturally," Katsuki adds. "Apparently they not only don't remember the past day's events but also pretty much have no idea what they are doing in this school at all. Which is pretty bad of course."

"Then Miss Furukawa just randomly walked in and told us not to worry because she had fetched her team or something, and they'll handle the confused students and the rest of the teachers. And then she picked up Ikoma-san—bed and all—and just marched out," Natsumi puts in.

Miss Furukawa, all skin and bones, picking up Ikoma-san and his bed and the machine connected to him like they weigh nothing—I have trouble imagining that. I'm aware that I'm gaping like a fish out of water, but it's at least comforting that Shun isn't much better. He looks like a Magikarp flopping around in a frying pan.

"Sounds like we missed a lot," he comments regretfully, and I agree with all my heart. I would give so much to have been able to help my classmates fight the sleepwalking teachers and upperclassmen, even though they seem to have done just fine without me.

"Yeah. You missed the part where I was super badass and fought off some large-looking senpai with the leg of a desk," Yukiya boasts.

"And you missed the part where Natsumi punched seven people in the face in a row," Daisuke adds with stars in his eyes.

"And you missed the part where you nearly killed us all with a knife," Natsumi says with a playful grin.

"I what?"

"We still love you, so no worries," Natsumi assures him. Then bursts into tears without warning. She gets up and pulls Shun into an awkward hug and Hiroki huffs because he has been rudely pushed away in the process.

"It's all right, you can hug me," Katsuki whispers to his boyfriend, and Hiroki happily bounds over into his arms. They find a position that suits both of them and turn together to watch Natsumi make a fool of herself with much satisfaction.

"I... I thought... what if you never changed back?" She punches Shun in the shoulder. "You're one of my best friends... You can't just... go all insane on us..."

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry, all right?" Shun sputters, looking very flustered at Natsumi's sudden display of affection.

Natsumi wipes her eyes unceremoniously on her sleeve and manages a watery smile. "But... but it's all good. I knew Tomomi would bring you back."

I don't know what it is that made Natsumi have so much confidence in me, considering that I have none myself, but I make sure to return her smile because it's radiant and it sort of amazes me that such a wonderful person is willing to be one of my best friends. I love Natsumi—heck, I love everyone in this room—but my declaration of love will probably have to wait till later.

I clear my throat. "So, um, our principal is dead, most of the teachers and the other students can't remember what they're doing here, so we no longer have a school. Uh, so what do we do next? Sit here and wait for Miss Furukawa to come explain what's going on and how the hell she just walked in and carried Ikoma-san plus his bed plus the connected machines straight out of here despite having zero muscles?"

"She won't be coming back, I'm afraid," Izumi replies sorrowfully. "She said she and the rest of her team needed to get Ikoma-san back to the base to be healed, wherever the 'base' is, and we could get in touch later."

Seeing that we still look flabbergasted, Anna adds, "She told us that we could find them at the base during the summer, and they would explain everything to us then. And that if we need an excuse to be out of town, we could tell our parents we're going to the school's intensive summer program and they'll believe us easily. They've taken care of that."

I nearly knock over a chair in horror. "They've taken care of what? What did they do to our parents?"

"They'd better not brainwash my parents or I'm gonna—" Shun stands up in a fit of fury but Natsumi calms him down.

"I already told Miss Furukawa the same thing. If they dare touch my parents I'm gonna break their heads off. She said it was nothing of the sort; they've simply sent them brochures about the summer program."

"I wasn't quite going for 'break their heads off'," Shun says, aghast. "What I had in mind was something much less violent."

Natsumi shrugs. "Can't blame me. Anyone who hurts my parents needs to die. Anyway, Miss Furukawa was in a hurry so even though we bombarded her with questions she didn't really explain anything. She left us a card, though."

"Problem is," Anna finishes for her, "the card isn't even hers!"

I take the card from Anna's outstretched hand. It's a business card, with the address of a small programming firm and a name, Hoshino Mikoto. A small photo on the top right corner: man in his forties, bespectacled, square-faced, altogether serious-looking. Obviously this can't be Miss Furukawa's fake identity; she can't pass for a man even if her life depended on it.

"So, what do you think?" Anna prods, like she is eager to see if I have come up with the same conclusion she did.

"I think... she means that we'll be able to find her and wherever the base is by mindhacking this Hoshino Mikoto."