Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item7 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 3===

The sounds of the crowd rapidly faded from Frenda’s ears.

Those few words seemed to pierce into her.

This wasn’t an empty threat like those habitually given by your average delinquent.

But nor was it a deadly threat spoken by a dark side pro.

This was something else.

It carried much more certainty.

Hanano saw Frenda gasp, but she didn’t react with triumph.

She showed pity.

As if she were watching an old woman lashing out at her surroundings without knowing how little time she had left.

“Yes. The date of your death has already been written. If you only continue down the path laid out for you, you will die before this date next year. I guarantee it.”

“…”

“But will you still ''only'' continue down that path? Really? I mean, why should a murderous villain bother following the rules!? There is no goal down that path. You must break free of it if you are to survive. You can do that with my help. But remember, this is because I like you. It’s nothing more than that. There is no rule requiring me to save you and it isn’t part of my win condition. So I will give you a single chance. This is your only opportunity to take my hand. Let it pass you by and you lose any chance of breaking free and the timeline will continue on its course until that final moment☆”

But they hadn’t arrived at that final moment yet.

They were still here in the past.

“Think of your seven-year-old sister. I don’t care about her myself, but you do very much, Frenda-san.”

Hanano giggled and ''moved.''

She reached a hand out toward Frenda.

“Don’t you want to see her eighth birthday? What about her ninth and her tenth? Don’t you want a future where the two of you can smile side by side in peace?”

“…”

“That is possible with my help. However, it will mean ''breaking the rules'' like the villains we are. Maybe people will talk about you behind your back, but you will survive. The method itself is simple, but it isn’t something someone from ''the past'' can think up and act on. Frenda Seivelun, I will not force you to accept. The choice is yours. Will you take my hand, or not?”

Hanano gave no evidence to back up her words.

And yet.

Frenda found herself being drawn in.

No, there was something different about the atmosphere surrounding Hanano. She wasn’t playing poker here. She wasn’t standing on the line between deception and discovery – trust and mistrust.

Every card she held was the truth and she could defeat her opponent no matter when she revealed her hand.

She could crush her opponent.

She showed that sort of confidence.

But…

“In the end, taking your hand carries a different meaning too.”

“Yeah.”

Hanano sighed.

With a “that’s what I thought” look on her face.

And she had already told Frenda this was her only chance to break free and change the timeline.

Frenda looked up again.



“In the end, I’d rather die than betray Item to survive!!”



A sharp popping sound rang out then.

Frenda’s eyes raced over to see heated kernels of corn popping at a popcorn stand. One after another. Some small children were curiously gathered around. They may not have known how popcorn was actually made.

And by the time the blonde girl looked ahead again, no one was there.

Hanano Choubi, master of disguise and infiltration, had blended into the crowd and left.

Or had she?

She had definitely disappeared, but Frenda found it hard to believe even after seeing it for herself.

“…”



''You will die, Frenda Seivelun.



To repeat, that cursed prophecy had nothing to back it up. This was far from unusual on the dark side. It should have been no more meaningful than a muscular guy shouting angrily that he was going to kill her.

Yet it eerily rang in her ears.

Maybe because Hanano’s voice hadn’t contained any of the hostility and ill will normally heard in a threat.

Only pity.

Frenda stood there all alone for a while.

Yes, like she had been left behind.

She hadn’t made the wrong choice…she thought.

She was confident that had been the right decision.

But.

The timing had been poor.

She wasn’t sure ''if that had been the right time to give the right answer.