Chapter I: The Awakening

It's been a year.

Finally back in Tatsumi Port Island, the former S.E.E.S. member and Gekkoukan High School boxing champion Akihiko Sanada felt a strong wave of nostalgia hit as he disembarked from the train.

Tomorrow was the one-year anniversary that they lost her to Nyx. Wait, no… they didn't lose her, he reminded himself. She chose to sacrifice herself, to turn herself into the seal that would keep Nyx binded and prevent the end of the world.

"Doesn't make it hurt any less," he said out loud as Akihiko caught himself thinking of heading towards the old dormitory. Force of habit, he mused.

Mitsuru Kirijo had arranged for someone to pick him up at the station and they would go visit her together - Junpei Iori, Yukari Takeba, Fuuka Yamagishi, Ken Amada, Aegis, and even Koro-chan. They would all be heading to her grave to pray and pay their respects.

Mitsuru hadn't changed a bit, he mused; the Tokyo University student majoring in a business degree and managing the Kirijo Group still managed to wrangle a few days off for the anniversary. And there he was, already taking a semester off from college because even though he made a promise, he considered himself just far too weak to keep-

Akihiko's train of thought was interrupted as a large white canine jumped up on him and successfully knocked him down. "Nice to see you, too, Koro-chan," he laughed. Just a few feet away from him, he saw his friends waving with smiles plastered on their faces.

It's only been a year.

###

"Man, I can't believe we're already graduating soon," Junpei babbled mindlessly. They had piled into a waiting limousine and were already on their way to visit her at the shrine. Junpei had been droning on and on about their plans for the future.

Keep moving forward… right. Akihiko clutched the small music box that he found among her things last year, and decided he wanted to leave it with her. It was a Christmas present, after all. He was just giving it back.

"In just a few weeks, we'll be leaving Iwatodai, too," Fuuka joined in. She had been accepted into an engineering program for university; the girl was a genius when it came to machines and electronic devices.

Akihiko hadn't told anyone that he was on a break. A year ago, they'd all promised they wouldn't let her death keep them from living their lives to the fullest - and he tried. He studied hard, trained harder, and even put great effort into going on dates with new female associates - but it was just too much too soon for him, and he just wanted to take things at his own pace.

"I made reservations for us at a hotel the Kirijo Group owns," Mitsuru chimed in. "We'll head there to rest after our visit."

Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, Akihiko noted. He should just try his best not to spoil this for everyone. He wasn't the only one still hurting, but he needed to be strong, too. He had to keep his shit together, the way everyone was so obviously trying to keep theirs.

###

"What…"

"This is a joke, right?"

"What's going on?"

"Whatever this is… this isn't funny."

The former S.E.E.S. members were frozen in shock at the sight that was laid out before them. Akihiko stood still, unable to believe what he was seeing before his eyes.

Minako Arisato and Shinjiro Aragaki. Both were friends they had lost last year, comrades who had given their lives to prevent 'the coming of the Fall.'

These friends stood before them now, in front of Minako's empty grave, and accompanying them was a peculiar little woman with pale skin, blonde hair, and a dark blue dress.

"One year," she smiled.