The following morning started with a problem.

To be more precise...

Akari woke up.

---

"G’OOD MORNING, PARTICIPANTS OF OPERATION DESTINY!"

Her voice rang out in the dining hall.

Some of the visitors glanced in her direction.

An old man nearly dropped his tea.

Kuro instantly put a hand over his face.

"It’s too early for that."

"It is never too early for science."

Aoi raised her gaze from her breakfast.

"You are not conducting science."

"I am."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

Akari pointed at her with her finger dramatically.

"You fear the truth."

"I fear your methodology."

---

The rest of the team sat at the table eating their breakfast.

Or rather, trying to.

Akari already drew some kind of chart.

Nobody could guess where she found the piece of paper.

Or where she took those numerous arrows from.

---

Rika leaned over.

"...Why is there a flowchart?"

Akari smiled happily.

"Because every successful investigation starts with organization."

Aoi glanced at it.

"This is a mess."

"It is destiny."

"It is a mess."

---

At the center of the chart there was a big circle.

Inside it there were three words.

DESTINY EXPERIMENT PLAN

Kuro immediately stood up.

"I’m leaving."

"No."

Akari pulled him by his sleeve.

"You are the main participant."

"I didn’t sign up for this."

"Destiny signed up for you."

---

Yui silently hid behind her cup.

Mina suddenly grew incredibly interested in her rice.

Aoi looked tired despite it being morning.

Rika was drawing the whole thing.

---

"Alright!"

Akari slapped the paper on the table.

"Partering experiment number one!"

Everything became dead silent.

Everybody knew where this was heading.

---

Akari pointed somewhere randomly.

"Kuro and Yui."

Yui almost choked with her tea.

"W-What?!"

Kuro sighed.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because this is insane."

"It is research."

"It is not."

---

Rika was already drawing.

Her pencil rushed frantically over the paper.

"What are you doing?"

Akari asked.

Rika didn’t glance up.

"Drawing an adaptation for the manga."

"...Already?"

"I draw fast."

---

A few minutes later she showed the first page.

It depicted Kuro standing dramatically below Mount Fuji.

Moonglow was surrounding him.

The wind was blowing his hair.

In front of him there was Yui.

Cherry blossoms flew in the air despite the lack of cherry blossom season.

At the top it was written:

DESTINY OF THE CRIMSON MOON

Silence.

---

Kuro gazed.

Yui gazed.

Aoi gazed.

Even Akari seemed puzzled.

"...Why is he shirtless?"

Rika blinked.

"For dramatic purposes."

"Why am I holding a sword?"

"Symbolism."

"What does it symbolize?"

"I haven’t figured that out yet."

---

Aoi pushed her glasses up.

"The probability of any of this happening is close to zero."

Akari exclaimed.

"YOU CANNOT CALCULATE DESTINY."

"I can calculate coincidence."

"That is different."

"No."

"It most certainly is."

---

However...

Mina was trying to get away.

Slowly.

Cautiously.

One inch at a time. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

---

Akari noticed that at once.

"Mina."

Mina stopped immediately.

"...Yes?"

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere."

"You’ve moved three seats away."

"I wanted more sunlight."

"There is no sunlight there."

Mina glanced at it.

"...I see."

---

The truth was simple.

Mina wanted absolutely nothing to do with Akari’s experiments.

Not a bit.

Not one.

Not even negative.

---

Unfortunately...

Akari already put Mina’s name in the chart.

"Mina."

"No."

"I haven’t said anything yet."

"The answer is no."

---

Rika started to draw another sketch.

This time it depicted Mina running from a huge heart monster.

The monster was marked with:

DESTINY

---

Even Mina chuckled.

"Little bit of an exaggeration."

---

The rest of the morning went exactly as bad as expected.

No matter where they went...

Akari conducted experiments.

---

At a souvenir shop.

"Stand next to each other."

"No."

---

At a food stall.

"Sit at the same table."

"No."

---

At a scenic overlook.

"Admire the horizon romantically."

"No."

---

Kuro rejected any offer with increasing efficiency.

Once he managed to beat his personal record.

Akari offered him five options.

He rejected them all in less than seven seconds.

Aoi even timed it.

---

"Impressive."

She commented.

"What is?"

"The speed of your refusal."

"Thanks."

"I did not mean that as a compliment."

---

By lunchtime...

Operation Destiny gained no results at all.

---

But Akari did not give up.

"This simply means that the destiny is hiding."

Aoi sighed.

"That is not how evidence works."

---

The team sat near an observation point above Mount Fuji.

Mount Fuji stood proudly under the clear blue sky.

Tourists were taking photos.

Kids were laughing around.

The view was great.

Beautiful.

Perfect.

---

But somehow...

Yui ended up sitting next to Kuro again.

---

Akari pointed at them.

"THERE."

Yui jumped.

"W-What?"

"See?"

"See what?"

"You sat next to him again."

"There was nowhere else!"

"There were four free seats."

Yui took a look.

Indeed, there were four free seats.

---

"...Oh."

Her face went red.

---

Kuro looked completely uninterested.

"I’m eating."

"You’re avoiding the question."

"There wasn’t any question."

---

Rika was drawing.

Aoi was keeping records.

Akari was losing it.

Mina was praying for patience.

Minami was sitting next to them drinking tea.

Watching everything.

Her face was the same as a tired parent watching six particularly naughty kids.

---

She looked at the mountain.

"...I deserve a raise."

Nobody heard her.

---

As evening slowly came...

The group headed back to the inn.

Tired from sightseeing.

Tired from walking.

And in Aoi’s case...

Tired from listening to Akari.

---

It became dark.

Pathways were lighted with lanterns.

One after one...

Everyone headed for the common room.

Talking.

Laughing.

Plannng tomorrow’s activities.

---

With the exception of Kuro.

Somewhere along the way...

Without saying a word.

Without making any noise.

He silently rose.

Put on his jacket.

And left outside alone.

No explanation.

No destination.

Just fresh night air.

---

The wooden door closed softly behind him.

And nobody noticed.

Not just yet.

Common room of the inn was unusually crowded.

Akari somehow managed to get a notebook.

Where she took it from was anybody’s guess.

Nobody dared to ask.

Because experience has shown them that asking only makes her more enthusiastic.

---

"Operation Destiny is moving into Phase Two."

Akari proclaimed proudly.

Aoi lifted her head from the book.

"There was Phase One?"

"Actually, several of them."

---

Rika was seated nearby, drawing like crazy.

She finished a page about once in five minutes and started the next one right away.

As a result, manga adaptation of the Mount Fuji legend made progress faster than any professional series.

---

Akari took a look at her work.

The latest page featured a mysterious boy and a girl under the full moon.

Flowers were falling around.

Gigantic Mount Fuji in the background.

Lightning for some reason.

---

"Why is there lighting?"

Aoi inquired.

"There was no storm."

Rika looked insulted.

"It’s atmosphere."

"Doesn’t work that way."

---

Meanwhile, in the other part of the room Mina tried to hide.

Again.

She chose a place as far as possible from Akari.

But unfortunately...

She got noticed immediately.

---

"Mina."

Mina shut her eyes.

"...Yes?"

"Why are you sitting there?"

"I live here now."

"You’ve moved."

"I’ve evolved."

---

Rika burst out in laughter.

Even Yui couldn’t help but smile.

---

Akari pointed at her.

"You’re escaping your destiny."

"You’re escaping me."

"They’re basically the same."

"It isn’t."

---

Minami was drinking tea at another table.

Observing the scene with the expression of an experienced teacher who understands that control is an illusion.

---

The discussion somehow turned back to the legend.

Exactly what Akari wanted.

---

"Think about it."

Akari leaned closer.

"What if it’s real?"

Aoi sighed.

"It isn’t."

"What if it is?"

"It isn’t."

"What if?"

"It isn’t."

---

Yui looked at her teacup.

"...Well, it is kind of romantic."

Nobody said a word.

---

Yui immediately realized her mistake.

"...I didn’t say I believe it."

Akari cried out.

"YOU DO."

"I don’t."

"You absolutely do."

"I said it sounded nice."

---

Rika drew already.

The new page depicted a blushing heroine under the moonlight.

---

"Rika."

Yui was terrified.

"Don’t."

"It’s done."

---

While that was going on...

Kuro was trying to ignore everybody for the last fifteen minutes.

Unfortunately, it was impossible.

---

Suddenly Akari pointed at him.

"Kuro."

"No."

"I didn’t ask anything yet."

"The answer is still no."

---

Aoi nodded.

"Economical."

---

Kuro sighed.

This legend.

These experiments.

Theories.

Matchmaking.

None of this excited him.

---

Others obviously found this concept fascinating.

Kuro wasn’t.

Perhaps because he was thinking about the future too much already.

Perhaps because he learned that significant changes happen slowly.

Without magical legends.

---

After some time the conversation shifted to university issues.

Dorms.

Lessons.

Teachers.

Future.

---

The atmosphere became quieter.

Soft.

Comfortable.

---

For a while, Kuro simply listened.

Like he usually did.

---

Then he glanced out of the window.

Moon was high.

Mountain stood still behind the forest.

It was a peaceful night.

---

Not realizing what he was doing...

Kuro stood up.

---

Nobody noticed it at once.

Akari was arguing with Aoi.

Rika was drawing.

Mina was hiding successfully.

Yui was laughing at Akari’s words.

Even Minami was distracted with the discussion.

---

Kuro put on his jacket.

Walked to the door.

And stepped outside.

---

The cool mountain air hit him immediately.

Silence replaced the noisy common room.

---

For the first time today...

Everything was quiet.

No destiny.

No experiments.

No chaos.

Just a night.

---

Kuro looked at the moon.

Then at the dark shape of Mount Fuji.

He smiled a little.

---

"Just a short walk."

he murmured.

---

The wooden door closed silently behind him.

And inside the inn...

Nobody noticed his disappearance.