After the green dragon incident, the Oka-ken is nowhere to be found. Kotarou tells his feelings to Kotori, that rejects him. Nonetheless, they have a good time walking around the town festival.
Kotarou sees Kagari at night in his room - he does not have Akane's shikigami that protect him anymore - and asks Kotori if she knows how to make some. She gives him a wooden mammoth figurine that would protect him in their stead.
Kotarou meets the once lost Inoue, his 'rival journalist', in the park. She lost her memory, but she gives him a memory stick that she had previously swallowed to protect. Kotarou reads the files in it, wich consist of Inoue's diaries that she kept while investigating in the forest. She visited the parallel world, saw many 'apparitions' and hooded men. Ultimately she succeeds in exiting the forest, only to find herself in the illusory Kazamatsuri (yeah well, the one that resembles closed spaces in Haruhi Suzumiya).
Kotarou enters alternate dimension again, is warped to the forest, and finds Kagari that slaps him with her ribbon so hard he faints. When he wakes up, he finds himself in his room.
Some day later, the HR teacher tells the class Kotori would suddenly be transferring in another school. Kotarou learns more of his memory loss incident and about his classmates. After a good scolding from Yoshino, he decides to go look for Kotori. After entering her house to look for some clues, he comes to realize that Chibimoth is a Mammoth and that his friends is a monster user. Kotarou heads for the forest, where he finds the green dragon again. He tries to fight, but is overwhelmed and saved in the nick of time by Kagari. Kotarou faints.
When he comes to his senses, he finds Chibimoth, wich motions for him to follow. In the forest, Kotarou seems many figurines like the one Kotori gave him lying on the ground, together with some gruesome corpses, remainders of some battle. Chibimoth leads him to Kotori bathing. Time to get scolded. And for some explanations.
Quote:
Kotarou: "Let me get this straight."
Kotarou: "There's an organization made of monsters and their users called 'Gaia'."
Kotarou: "With Kazamatsuri as their stronghold, these monster users operate to save the Earth."
Kotarou: "And, outside of Gaia, lone Druids like you exist?"
Kotori: "Yeah, that's the case."
Kotarou: "The Druids' duty is to protect the 'Key', and..."
Kotori: "Yes. There are different factions among monster users."
Kotori: "But as of now they've all been absorbed by Gaia."
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So. Kotori is a Druid, and she made Chibimoth using her dead dog and mammoth fangs, together with other monsters, using the power of that Aurora well. Woah.
She has to protect Kagari from people targeting her, so she enshrouded the forest with a kekkai that makes the place undiscoverable.
Kagari is some kind of unearthly entity made of Aurora energy that has the power to save nature. She's however kind of absent, does not speak, and is probably devoid of feelings. Kotarou tries to have a conversation with her to no avail beside making her say some brief words like a parrot would.
Also, at the time of the incident, Kotarou was saved by Kagari and Kotori, and thus obtained his esper powers. Kotarou decides to help her protecting the 'Key', and begins training with his Aurora powers. Three shrouded men are also in the forest, probably trying to find the 'Key' and fighting monsters.
To abide to her duties, Kotori barely sleeps and continues to work all day long. But this is too much pressure to her, and she breaks down crying on Kotarou's back (Chiwa Saito crying is... woah.)
The next day, they hear loud sounds and the earth trembles. Kotarou wants to help the woman he loves as best as he can. He exits the kekkai and finds Kagari, her gaze on a... a...
...wait a second, is that a DINOSAUR??? Back to reading.