Where exactly had things gone wrong?
The Third Anomaly
School was over, and the bell rang.
Everyone slowly left the school, chatting and laughing. It was an utterly unchanged routine; today was coming to an end once again.
Unexpectedly, Shinji had not bothered Hakuno at this time. She was quite content and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Yet she still felt that something was off.
"Fujimura Taiga, Fujimura Taiga..."
Hakuno rubbed her brow. A woman in a green skirt and tiger-striped clothing seemed about to leap out of her mind. Perhaps she was already roaring that she was the real Taiga. Tiger Taiga and Nun Taiga began fighting in her mind, and Nun Taiga was quickly beaten so thoroughly by Tiger Taiga that she could not fight back. Just as Tiger Taiga was about to win, Nun Taiga transformed into another form, wearing revealing clothes with two huge horns atop her head. Tiger Taiga immediately melted and wailed as though metal had met sulfuric acid.
The sight made Hakuno shudder.
Her memories seemed terribly muddled. The white nun and the yellow tiger—which one was real? Or were they both false? Or perhaps the world itself was false?
When she reached the shoe lockers, Hakuno patted her cheeks. She felt as though she might be overthinking things. Brains in vats might exist, and the idea was terrifying, but it could not be proven. Philosophers might occasionally ponder it, but they would not keep dwelling on it.
As usual, she prepared to change her shoes and leave. Playing the game Shinji had mentioned after school did not sound bad either. After all, here, skill at games was also part of what people competed over. Hakuno simply preferred enjoying games by herself rather than competing with others.
She had already changed her shoes