No no NO! He was so careful - so tedious in trying to make sure that this never happened again. Youâd think it wouldnât be hard to monitor two handfuls of students t make sure they donât tear eachother limb from limb, but not only was it difficult.
âNo!â
It was downright impossible.Â
Takashi pinched his bridge with his left hand; his right was fidgeting around in his pocket, but it could be seen form the indentation that he was shaking it in frustration. After a minute, he opened his eyes again, and looked around at the rest of the students.
âThis wouldnât have happened if we all just had a little bit of trust in one another. You think, being as many kids short as we were when this Hell started, that we would have learned to fucking trust eachother, and just listen to what weâre told. Iâm not asking for blind faith here, Iâm just talking about being- no you know what, forget it.â Takashi turned on his heel in almost perfect form; he wobbled a bit and nearly fell over, though.
âYou all clearly donât want my help. In fact, youâve outright rejected it! Have fun poking around another dead body. Thereâs plenty of other places to investigate, and Iâll be there, solving this freaking murder for you again!â
âDamn it all!â He yelled at the end of the hall, leaving the Entertainment District, what he made it seem like, for good.
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There were only so many places to go after a motive like that was dropped. If she had any sense, Yukiko might have stayed in her designated room reading until someone died, but the way this punishment was laid out, if she got chosen by raffle (and she would have the luck to get chosen, but what could they possibly do to her that was so specialized, what could they do to anyone that wasnât repairable aside from attacking the brain?) then no amount of skulking would help her. So she might as well gauge public opinion, or squeeze some last use out of her eyes or what have you. This apparently meant another trek back to the school building, because at least all the important rooms werenât on the other sides of stairs or another half an hoursâ worth of walking.
She wouldnât have entered the gym, though, if it hadnât been for the loudâŚmysterious pained sound she heard on the way past. Surely no one would have cracked so quickly, especially to attack that guy. Powered only by morbid curiosity, she shouldered the door open, only to seeâŚTakashi Koiwai, pinned underneath his own weight like a snail under a shoe. It would have been gratifying if it werenât so bizarre.
âDo you think if I just stood here and allowed your own stupidity to kill you slowly. Would that be counted as my fault. Iâm only asking because I couldnât assist you even if I wanted to. Not that you can respond right now. Just something to think about.â
Despite the funk she was still very much in, Haruka had to keep in shape. The motive made everything worse- dancing was all she had. She couldnât afford to lose that talent. She might as well make the best use of her body while it was still working completely. Besides, endorphins make you happy. And she needed that right now. So she got her clothes on and headed to the gym. She was almost to the door when she heard rather loud groaning and..then Yukikoâs voice, though she couldnât make out the words. Ugh. Walking a bit faster, she peeked inside the room and quickly realized the situation. Well, at least she wasnât walking in on a murder.
It took her a few minutes to realize the reason Yukiko wasnât helping was because she was a limp noodle. Haruka made a silent note of that. It meant she could probably do some damage if she really wanted or had to. But all of that wasnât relevant right now. Dropping her water bottle and shoving past the surgeon, she ran over to Takashi.
âAlright alright Iâm here. Hang on.â
Haruka put her hands on the bar and lifted with all her strength. Which was a lot mind you. All those days climbing poles werenât for nothing. But she wasnât used to lifting like this, so Takashi would have to put in a little effort at least. If he wasnât deceased by now.
This couldnât kill him. Takashi was too great of a person to have a death this... embarrassing. Any severe damage to himself caused by lifting something would be so embarrassing that he might wish that it had actually killed him. if you donât believe me, than listen to Yukiko who has already explained why. This sight made Takashi look so stupid, and he couldnât even deny it because, Yukiko was right again, he could hardly even breathe with the bar pinning his neck to the table, let alone yell insults.
Haruka, finally walked in and was able to lend a hand. This was both good and bad. Good, because it meant he wouldnât die where he lay, but bad because it was Haruka. Takashi was being saved by a girl who he was friendly with, but hadnât met with enough times to have her form a full opinion of him. This would no doubt leave a negative impression of him.Â
With the assistance of Haruka and the increased rage brought on from Yukikoâs statement, the dumbell came up and was dropped with a clang back into place on the rack. Takashi didnât move at first, or rather couldnât, frozen in place by fear, embarrassment, and the physical inability to do with the lack of oxygen he was receiving. When he was able to swing his legs off the bench and sit up for them, he didnât look either of them in the eyes, but just continued to pant. Takashi looked like he was going to fall asleep, or possible pass out given the situation, with his body bent and relaxing and eyes drooping shut, but after a couple moments, he was able to push a phrase out of his mouth.
Sweat and Tears, sans Blood (Motive Reaction) - [Takashi/Haruka/Yukiko]
âHrrngh! Hrraaah!â
25. Takashi was letting himself go. He hadnât been through a hardy workout since his root beer meltdown with Hideki. It seemed like nobody else could see but himself (which was the case), though Takashi could feel a Russian gut forming by his stomach. 26. He had blamed the situation, and being too busy working out his brain coming up with ideas to get off of the christing moon! Admittedly, that does take considerable thought, but was no excuse he would take for becoming lax with his exercise. Why the sudden motivation. however? Well, thatâs the word right there. Motive. 27.
The title of Marine Biologist isnât tied to a specific part of the body. What would MonoMANU do to him in the event that he was unlucky enough to be chosen? Maim his limbs, cut out his tongue, or if they decided to not bother thinking which part mattered more to him, than simply lobotomized. Takashi didnât like either option, but murder would always be the worse, in any scenario. 28. Speaking of, both scenarios required him to be in peak physical shape. Whether it was assisting in their escape, which would happen, or resisting whatever crippling punishment he may receive, his health was more important than ever. And as Takashi struggled to have his arms support his 29th rep of the sixty-something kilogram weight, he thought himself as too weak to do save anything. His goal... was thirty... and after he hit that he could start to work out his-
âOOooowwfffffffFFF-!!â
Now he also felt stupid for not bringing a spotter, in addition to the pain on his throat from the weight he could barely hold up and prevent choking himself!
YáˇoĚ°u cĚáˇâĄÍ¨ÍŻnât think abâĄuĚt ÍyouÍĚĚr fâĄâĄiĚľlyÍ right nÍow. It̨âs tooÍĄ daÍnÍŁâĄâĄÍâĄous. Iâm sĚŤâĄrry. That Ía̢ĚâĄsweÍŽr Íis one IĚ ca̡nât gâĄve.Ě
But how was Kaoru supposed to think of anything else now?
âM-Mika-chanâŚâ Kaoru hiccuped. She was slumped against the wall of the staircase leading back up to her room. She hadnât been able to get to her room before feeling that awful weight of fear and panic and despair crush down on her again. So she had dodged the stairs and hid down the hall just by the kitchen doors. A place to cry in relative peace.
To be honest her younger sister hadnât been on her mind constantly at the beginning. She had been worried about her own life and the situation she was in.
But after spending two days reliving the past, Mikaâs safety and well being was always on her mind. Was she okay? Was she safe? Mika was only 14. And if Kaoru wasnât there thenâŚ
She heard footsteps before she saw who came around the corner.
âW-who?â She managed to choke out before realizing she didnât want to be caught crying. She quickly fell silent and, for good measure, yanked her hood down in front of her eyes. Sorry, Kaoru cannot speak right now.
This texter, they instilled hope in some students, fear in others, but in Takashi the outlook stayed mostly how it has been since Tsukikoâs execution. The event of some third party hacking inside to contact the lunar kids was alarming, and had a lot of potential for information regarding events on Earth, how the star students ended here, or how they would escape.This could have led to something big!Â
Potential and could have. There was absolutely no point to the texting. They reassured Takashi of what was obvious and could offer no helpful information beyond that. This mystery man, if anything, distressed some people who were managing to hold themselves together. Kaoru looked to be a good example of this. Takashiâs heart went out to the poor girl, whoâd been victim of way too much already without reaching the penultimate status, and the rest of his body moved to Kaoru as well.
âKaoru? Hey... whatâs wrong?â
Oh, his wardrobe is likely in need of explanation. You see, Takashi was barely able to stay in the know on his own countries pop culture, let alone that which went on in the west. So when his brother returned from the states a couple years ago and brought this âheroâs garbâ, as he called it, to Takashi, the clothing was put on immediately to show respect for the gift. Then Tatsuru laughed, a lot. There was copious amounts of guffawing and slapping knees, even after Takashi left the room, because Tatsuru had taken plenty of pictures. Even after Takashi researched this American icon, he still didnât understand the hilarity. For one, the clothing was too flashy for common wear but comfy, and dare-he say, stylish? Secondly, the power of âAqua Manâ fascinated him. Perhaps the reason Tatsuru laughed so much was because he knew how much time his brother would then waste looking up a hundred years worth of comics and wasting what would later seem like just as much time that could have been spent working. That was probably it. What a prankster!
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Adeline didnât seem to notice Takashiâs discomfort at first, remaining there hugging him for awhile.
âThatâs understandable⌠um, I mean⌠I canât say that⌠what you did was particularly right. But⌠you did it for the good of what you believed in. And⌠um, Iâm sure youâve done an excellent job running the aquarium⌠Itâs not your fault that you ended up here. Iâm a bit worried about Tageslicht, myself. Besides⌠arenât we all sort of angsty teenagers here? EhehâŚâ
She wondered how her parents were handling the business without her. She couldnât make any new scents right now, after all, and sheâd been in the middle of perfecting oneâŚÂ It was then she realized that Takashi was rather uncomfortable. She quickly stood up and backed away, accidentally bumping into the lockers and stumbling back forward, face rather red.
âS-sorry!â
She turned her attention to Hideki. She was glad his reaction hadnât been bad⌠then again, she hadnât really seen him get mad. Even if he seemed a bit awkward, hey, she was feeling pretty awkward herself. And as Takashi spoke again, she found a smile coming to her face. He was pretty much stating her current philosophy, after all.
âI completely agree with you, Koiwai-kunâŚ! Um, I think itâs really important that we all trust each other. Iâve already entrusted Hideki-kun with my secret, as well as a few others⌠I could tell you too if you want, Koiwai-kun. I really want to put my trust into every person here, and I hope that they can in me. Um, of course it⌠may not be enough to stop something from happening⌠b-but, it lessens the chances, and helps everyone get along. Um, so⌠yeah. Honesty and trust are crucial in this situation, and as friends.â
She goes back to playing with her hands a bit. She didnât mention knowing Hidekiâs secretâ it wasnât her right, after all, to say anything unless absolutely necessary. She also seems to call the two âkunâ now. Another sign of growing friendship.
Alright, this was already awkward with Hideki stumbling over his words and acting like a nerd, but the awkwardness level went from 6 to 10 when Adeline went reeling back from Takashi blushing and bumping into things. What. Uh. Okay. Heâs going to pretend that didnât happen. He turns from Adeline to Takashi. Yeah, just donât comment on it, HidekiâŚ
ââŚ..â
 Just, please be honest with me about anything else in the future â
âŚhonest, huh? What, is he supposed to admit if the motive is âtemptingâ when it comes around? âHonestyâ seems to be one of the best things to break trust, from his experience, and his predictions lead him to believe that being completely honest will do exactly that â break their âtrust.â Itâs actually funny, someone who accused him of murder preaching about trustâŚ.
ââŚthat goes two ways, right, Koiwai-san? Youâre going to trust me? Iâm sure Iâve said this before, but⌠trust has to be mutual. Itâs probably going to completely destroy any trust I have for you if youâre just going to go back on your word and accuse me of⌠ah, being a murderer, againâŚâ
That actually sounded like a threat, but it wasnât intended to be one. Takashi seemed intent on preventing another casualty⌠letâs just hope he actually couldâŚ
Aha! Free at last. Takashi felt bad seeing Adeline bang herself up against the lockers in response to his seemingly eternal wiggling. He stretched his legs out and stood to help and apologize, but Adeline had already composed herself. Already, the chipper girl had returned to brightening spirits in a serious conversation; Takashi understood that was a difficult feat.
âYes! Itâs good to know somebody agrees with me. You may tell me your secret if you are comfortable doing so, Adeline. Only if, though. I would hate to see you spill into the lockers again. Ha ha ha!â That was the first time heâd laughed in a long while. It was more of a jovial response to his own statement than a genuine chuckle - the situation they had just exited from was nothing to laugh at after all - but he felt the same pleasure from doing that.
Hideki, however, wasnât smiling. The contrast in expressions from Adeline to Hideki was so jarring that it wiped the smile from Takashiâs face. Now Takashi looked almost concerned, and listening to him didnât reveal a hidden glint of joy. In the second after he had finished, when it would be proper to respond, a bold decision was made and Takashi took just a couple of long steps to reach Hideki.
Takashi threw an arm around Hideki and pulled him into a side-hug by the shoulder, a smile returning again.
âYou know, Iâm going to take a page out of my brotherâs book, which I donât do often, and say yes. With full confidence!â He patted and occasionally rubbed Hidekiâs shoulder as he spoke, like a friend. âYou can trust me. That time of blindly throwing accusations at others is over! Mostly because there will not be another murder. I know trust is half of it, but Iâll be much more vigilant regarding suspicious going-ons around the-â
â-the complex.âÂ
His mood an tone of voice suddenly changed. No Siberian permafrost could defend his happy mood from the guilt of Moeâs murder. It drilled right through, and suddenly the thought of enjoying himself at a time like this felt wrong, and Takashi gave Hideki two pats on the back before casually strolling more to the middle of the two.
Once Takashi started crying, Moe pretty much had no idea what to do. People didnât exactly open up to her a lot, as a general rule, and this was a bit more heavy than all that. He spilled out so many words and so fast and seemed like he wasnât even done until that last apology. Despite this,  Moe didnât try to interrupt, patiently knowing when he was truly done speaking. Was this an effect of the virtual reality, or simply a trait she hadâŚ?Â
ââŚitâs aight. Chill.â
Okay, she should probably say more than that.
âI mean- donât- please donât be so upsetâŚKoiwai-kun⌠itâs- uh⌠you didnât even do anything, bro. I shoulda known better on my own, I thinkâŚ. thought the whole thing was⌠kinda fishy. You mighta got hurt too if you got all the way outta bed anâ your jammies and shit just to come walk with me. Thatâs why I got all⌠gnarly bashed up or whatever⌠I guess. Thing was meant for some dummy to fall for, not you. Really⌠no biggieâŚâ
That was a lot of talking, especially for Moe in particular. She didnât often talk this much, and while it wasnât exactly tiring for the program it surely didnât sit right with her. She paused for a while to sort of breathe, in even and repeated patterns, and then softened her voice a bit when she spoke up again.Â
ââŚyouâre like, wicked smart, dude⌠donât say that âbout yourself.â
Takashi muttered under his breath while Moe spoke to him, and refused to look her in the startling eye peering out from behind her hair. It made him feel even more guilty.He regarded every word of hers (its?) as false. She (it??) only made Takashi feel more guilty about his actions.Â
âI-I- Itâs not âaightâ! Youâre not even... y-â
It was then he realized how pointless this quest out of bed was. He thought he was seeking redemption, an apology, which was received and immediately discarded. Takashi acted as if he wanted to continue to feel burdened by this innocentâs death like a mental masochist. That isnât the word that best describes it, though. He found now pleasure in it, and he didnât want this terrible feeling. Takashi felt like he deserved it, and that needs a remedy no human or machine can provide at the moment. It didnât help if Takashi couldnât even decide what the entity manifested in front of him counted as. His brain was quick to try to make sense of it, but under stress that accumulated at double the rate, a meltdown was imminent.Â
Takashi hated things that confused him, because he should be quick to make up his mind because he was so smart. Only he just said he wasnât smart, but refused to take the word of Moe, because he said he thought himself smarter than her. That was hypocritical, though, wasnât it? Also, contradictory, because either Takashi thought he wasnât smarter than Moe, and correct, thus proving he was smarter and making Moe right. Or decided he was smarter than Moe, disproving his intelligence, and Moe was correct once again, just like Takashi was wrong, either way. Heâd been beaten by a machine, inside his own mind. Or was Moe a machine. Takashi couldnât decide! He just stood there looking Moe right in her its dead eye, smiling because she it was kind smarter than him! Every second he stayed silent proved its superiority even more until finally like steam a single sentence hissed from his mouth-
âYouâre- shut up. Youâre not even real.â
-before the whole system broke down.
âYouâre- wrong!? Or, youâre right, but, it doesnât count! Youâre just some program now! A bunch of ones and zeroes that-âÂ
Something clicked. With all the thoughts about AI and computers, Takashi may have related it to a system reset. It was a way of his body telling him that he needed to calm down, and that too many thoughts and emotions were conflicting. He did simmer, surreal-ly fast, After he had enough time to catch up with himself, realize what he had said, and to who. She was Moe. At least enough to be treated like it. Takashi no longer knew what he deserved, but conceded that he was intelligent enough to know Moe deserved respect.Â
âMoe... I didnât mean to say that. Iâm sorry.. Iâm going to go. Maybe... when I know I wonât do this again, Iâll come back and make it up to you. Iâll think of something, because, youâre right, Iâm smart! Uh... um... bye.â And Takashi went to remove his helmet. Whatever pounding headache he was suffering from most likely wasnât limited to the virtual world. In fact, it would probably feel worse.
Adeline frowned a bit as Hideki spoke, not at him but rather his words. Takashi had called the secret he got scummyâŚ? That wasnât right, regardless of what it was. Well, maybe if it was something that involved purposefully hurting someone or the like⌠but by the sound of it, maybe it wasnât something that bad, or perhaps it was similar to Hidekiâs? She didnât think anything like that deserved being called âscummyâ. Of course, she didnât know what it was for sure, and though she contemplated the right words for how to ask about it, she remained silent.
ââŚâ
She continued to stay quiet as Takashi spilled the details of his past. Her expression grew sad, and she tugged her sleeves more as he continued. That⌠well, it⌠wasnât as bad as it could be. Of course, it wasnât right, and he could get in a lot of trouble for that, Adeline knew. But, stillâŚÂ
She startled a bit when Takashi fell to the floor, but didnât move until he was done speaking. She was rather shocked into silence for a few moments, but her motherly instincts kicked in stronger than her shock and she moved forward.
The girl dropped to the ground behind Takashi and gently wrapped her arms around him, softly resting her head on his back and giving him a small squeeze. She said nothing for a few moments, gathering the words to say in her mind.
ââŚKoiwai-san⌠itâs okayâŚâ
She spoke softly, but loud enough for both boys to hear.
âUm⌠you⌠you were really close to the owner, rightâŚ? So⌠Iâm sure you⌠just wanted the aquarium to be in good hands⌠and not someone who wouldnât treat it properly⌠right? And⌠besides, you feel bad now, so⌠it⌠youâre not a bad person, Koiwai-san. Everyone has done things⌠that theyâre ashamed of. Even if⌠it wasnât something quite like that⌠you donât have to think badly of yourselfâŚâ
She still didnât know the full story, of course. She hadnât been there, didnât know anything⌠so maybe she never would. But that was alright, because all she needed to know was that Takashi knew he did something wrong and felt remorse, and that he wasnât a bad person because of it. However, as she glanced over Takashiâs shoulder at the barista, she was a bit more worried about what Hidekiâs reaction would be like.
Just when Hideki thought he was done, it turned out Takashi was far from finished.
With the words âlet me tell you the rest of the story,â Hideki lifted his head so he could look at Takashi as he spoke. It was calm, at first, the way Takashi explained his story, but then he showed just how personal this secret was in the form of flurries of insults and shouting.
Hideki was no stranger to having the short end of the stick at work. He was used to having shitty co-workers who got everything for being patronistic âfriendsâ with their customers. He knew what it felt to have a co-workers or the like he considered to be, well, in Takashiâs words⌠a âdick.â It was years ago, however, that he had co-workers that bad⌠but it was still a memory engraved in his mind.
That was as far as he could relate to Takashiâs story.
While he could feel sympathetic to a small part of the story, it was hard to feel as sympathetic towards him as Adeline did, considering the⌠lengths he went to get what he wanted. But, itâs not like Hideki didnât go to extreme lengths to get what he wanted before, so perhaps he was the hypocrite after allâŚ
At least Takashi had the courage to seriously explain his secret. The only time Hideki revealed his own was on a whim, towards Adeline, after he was exhausted of being asked his secret over and over and over and over. Takashi, while handling the topic of his secret (understandably) emotionally, at least managed to explain his story.
Hideki almost stood up to help Takashi onto his feet, but Adeline got to him first â leaving Hideki sitting there, speechlessly. âŚwhat exactly was he meant to say? This was so much to be dumped on him all at once⌠and why⌠him? Why was he being told?
âThatâs⌠Takashi⌠why are you telling me thisâŚ? I⌠you didnât have to. I wasnât expecting an explanationâŚâÂ
But, perhaps Takashi felt so bad about his past that he believed he had to tell someone.
âItâs⌠in the past⌠I guess. I canât say⌠what you did was⌠mhgm⌠right, but⌠whatever⌠Iâm not going to yell in your face and call you a scummy person, if thatâs what you expected⌠especially if you seem⌠remorseful, now. Iâm not going to⌠add insult to injury⌠ahahaâŚâ
Wow, he sure feels awkward. What he just said probably didnât help Takashi feel better at all. He isnât as great with this comforting thing as Adeline is, so heâs just saying anything he can think of and hoping itâll be taken wellâŚ
Itâs not that Takashi didnât know how to feel about the sudden comfort provided by Adeline, as he was quick to make up his mind on most matters. That also may be the cause for a lot of trouble he had recently as well as two years ago. Takashi knew that he felt uncomfortable, despite how nice of a person Adeline was, he wasnât use to anybody doing anything for him or providing this level of personal support from anyone, with the only exception being his mother. It was nice, but didnât feel natural (perhaps another thing to take note of and learn to adapt for), so he struggled with the problem of not knowing how to respond to it.
âOh, Adeline. Thank you for, uh, your comforting words.âÂ
Then Takashi wriggled a bit, but in a position as compromising as his, it got him nowhere. He remained in the embrace of Adeline until whenever she saw fit to release him, and eventually got used to it enough to talk again.
âItâs not the act itself, and what it got me, that Iâve felt guilty about. Not until recently anyways, while Iâm stuck here and supposed to be in charge of the aquarium 384,400 kilometers from me.â He looked at itâs palms like the act had been branded on them. âItâs how easy it was for me to do it. How little I cared in that moment. It was for the best, Iâm sure. That place wouldnât be there today had I not done what I did. I just wish I hesitated, just a bit...â He tossed his head back down. âHe died that night, you know. It feels like I signed his death warrant... Oh, Christ, I sound like some angsty teen.â He said, momentarily forgetting his age and overall attitude heâs had throughout the past two weeks.
He had almost forgotten Hideki was in the room. What he said, while not condoling, was pleasing to hear. Any sentence not yelled or spoken accusingly at him by Hideki felt like a blessing in these circumstances.
âHideki, we are in a high-stress situation filled with murder and suspicion of classmates and their possibility that they may commit it. We need to trust eachother, not just us three. The rest of us students, if you think we can still call ourselves that, need to start being more cooperative and open with each other about circumstances which may lead to murder. You, I thought trusted me the least, and you also knew part of my secret but had no knowledge of the details. I think the two are related, eh? Another rhetorical question. Anyways, Iâll trust you, no strings attached regarding your secret. Just, please be honest with me about anything else in the future that will help keep any more of... this, from happening. I donât want anyone else to die here.â
Adelineâs curiosity grew as the trio made their way to the study room. The tension between them was clear, especially from Hidekiâs side. What exactly had happened with themâŚ? Well, she couldnât exactly just ask. Sheâd wait, to see if they explained it themselves.
It really was nice and quiet inside the study room. But that was somewhat unnerving. Adeline could hear every shuffle of their feet, even the noise of her tugging on her sleeve. She listened patiently while Takashi spoke, his voice filling the quiet space.
So, Takashi didnât know Hidekiâs secret, thenâŚ? Had they had an argument about sharing? It was a bit confusing to the small girl, but she understood that it must be a big deal for Takashi to be opening up like this, based on how he was acting.
Waitâ were those tears? It looked like they were, and Takashi had stopped speaking, so she stepped forward and gently put her hand on his arm, offering a caring smile.
"Itâs alright, Koiwai-san⌠Uh, Iâm sure you had a reason, right? You seem to feel bad for it now, so⌠thatâs good. Thatâs how you can come to terms with it⌠Um, I think so, at least. Itâs not good to stay in the past forever."
She spoke from experience on that last part. Of course, she didnât know Takashiâs reason, or what heâd forged, or how long ago it was and what it did.
Adeline turned to Hideki, looking slightly expectant.
Hideki pulls out a chair from a desk when they enter, which he turns to face Takashi and Adeline so he could sit down while he listened.
I donât want to know your secret.
Hideki looks at Adeline with that, hoping she wonât say anything. So far, she was the only one who knew his full secret⌠unless you counted E.L.L.A, who now knew his initials. With that short glance, he turns back to Takashi, a tired look on his face. However, heâs not the only one whoâs tired. Takashi likely is, too.
âYou openly called the secret you had scummy, of course I wonât trust you with mine.â And the secret Takashi received was very much like his ownâŚÂ âYouâre pretty hypocritical, arenât you? Why do you judge someone elseâs secret when youâre worried someone will judge your own?â
He feels a pang of guilt after he says that. Takashi has been fine during this conversation, and now heâs being a borderline bully towards him. He looks up at the ceiling, resting the back of his neck against the back of the chair. There are a few beats of silence, before he began speaking again, much less hostile than before. âIâm⌠not going to tell anyone. Youâre sort of the⌠one who let someone else know⌠you know, Adelineâs hereâŚâ
Heâs not going to say his secret isnât bad, but⌠heâs not going to tell anyone, either.
Takashi was ready to react to what Hideki said as soon as he spoke it, but he waited his turn. Everyone deserves respect and all that whale shit. Yes, they all were tired, but Takashi had been disturbed tonight one too many times. With Adeline here there was certainty that this instance wouldnât end with another dead student.Â
âH-hypocrit? Far from it, Hideki. Did I not say something to the effect of âI wonât let this place change my perspective of right and wrongâ the last time we talked? Do you not think I know what I did was scummy?â Takashi took a moment to wipe the imminent tears away, then stared down Hideki, differently than usual.
âLook at me, and tell me I donât know how abhorrent my crime was- actually no.â Takashi was a mess, worried about the future, and what others opinions of him were. Especially now. How much more pitiful did his state make him look, though. Just for once, he let it go, and didnât hold back his words. The expression he wore once again changed.
âLet me tell you the rest of the story, first.â He gave Adeline a glance, becoming a tad worried on the inside, but keeping a serious facade plastered.Â
âWhat I did, it isnât part of the past. It was as recent as two years ago. Maybe three. Back then, I was a lackey to the real owner of Wakkanai Portside. I did every common task for him: scrub windows, feed fish, file papers, take inventory, I even did his taxes. I had full, unrestricted access to his office in later years, he trusted me that much. Notice how I said that?â
âHe was dying, not one thing really wrong with him. He was just an old starikashka. I visited him at the hospital every frickinâ day. He wasnât just a mentor, he was like a- like a... Anyways, I believe Iâm getting off-track. He gave me an order during one of my visits. In his desk, last-drawer going down on the right, I wasnât allowed to forget that, I was to fetch a letter and mail it to some lawyer. I wonât bore you with further details. You know what is was! And so did I!â
âIt was a will! I- I thought he was above that. Nobody ever thought he would die, especially him! Ha- ha ha!â Takashi looked like he could be that old man, hunched over and fists shaking. He seemed to be short of breath as well. âWell he was wrong about something else too! Trusting me! I forged his will! There, the information is out! The aquarium, those fish, me and every other hard working employee - they were to belong to his nephew. *gasp* That dick, Hiroyoshi! I couldnât just let it happen. All that work! All of that power! To be taken from me. I betrayed my superior! Itâs not just the act, that I feel bad about. Have you ever forged anything? A rhetorical question of course. The worst part, was how steady I was able to keep my hand! How little I felt bad about it at the time!âÂ
He couldnât look at them any more. Two too many judging eyes, he had to sit down. Unfortunatey, there was no chair behind him when he lurched backwards to do so. His rear hit the floor with and audible thump, but Takashi ignored it, and put his head between his knees, his hands over his head, and sobbed. âAnd I still lost! Iâm up here now! I can only imagine how much chaos Wakkanai Portside is in without its scummy owner.â
Poor Takashi. As soon as she processed who was here to see her, and the blonde shining image of scuba-doo himself came into focus, she seemed pretty pleased. At least, when compared to what sheâd been asked about her demeanor was strikingly positive. I mean, he did use her name, after all.
âKoiwai-san⌠hey. You came to see me..! Iâm feelingâŚâ There was a short pause as she considered the rest of the sentence, and only after did her face change.
ââŚfine. I guess. What do you mean, though? I know Iâm, uh, d..ead⌠or.. if thatâs what you were askingâŚ. but I donât really.. know why, I donât think. Canât remember. Are you okay?â
She did know. This Moe knew everything pertaining to that night, Takashi supposed, up to the very moment of the murder. As theorized, this made sense; the memory stopped right as the weight made impact with her skull. How was a machine like this possible. Takashi refused to be fooled by it, a machine, into thinking it was authentic. But he felt sorry, for the real Moe, whoâs body was carted off to the dark side of the moon. This would have to suffice. Takashi didnât think any of this at the time, however. All he thought was what came out of his mouth.
âYou... do know.â And yet she still stopped to ask if he was okay.
âItâs my fault! Mine!â Takashi has been upset before, here, and has even been forced to swear in his mothers native tongue, but never has his temperament brought her crude accent to the surface as well. âI fucked up! I really fucked up! I could have gone with you, like I was supposed to! Like I- promised!â He took a few shallow breaths and continued. âIâm not okay! How dare you ask me that?! Youâre the one whoâs dead! Tsukiko bashed your skull in, after I sent you to her. I should have known something was wrong. With the riddle. I- I- am sorry. Iâm sorry, I was so stupid. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I hate that word, Hiroya-! *cough!* *cough!âÂ
Takashi choked on his tears, and when he was done coughing his voice seemed to have returned to normal, but his expression of guilt was the same.Â
âIâm sorry... for not caring... until it was too late.â
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Adeline was still rather in shock after Tsukikoâs execution. It affected her a little less than the last time, seeing someone dieâ was she getting used to it? That was a scary thoughtâ but the dream analyst was her friend. She hadnât known Osamu, or Hikaru, very well⌠but Tsukiko she had. Still, she knew how it had to be. She had to stop crying and shaking, stand tall, and carry on. Go on living her life, and do her best to prevent the loss of another.
Still, as she exited the trial room, she was pale and slightly shaking, eyes on the ground as she walked aimlessly down the hall.
âAh, Koiwai-sanâŚâ
Upon hearing Takashi call to her, she turned to listen. He wanted her helpâŚ? With Hideki? She could tell there was something going on between them, though she had no idea what, and she was rather curious. Something to do with secrets, he said? She knew Hidekiâs, but nothing about Takashiâs. Her curiosity grew more, and she figured that it would be a good distraction from the events of a trial. Besides, if she could do anything to help them, sheâd be eagerly willing to do her best. And⌠she was rather happy that Takashi considered her such a good friend, and trusted her with this.
âUm, okâŚ! Thank you⌠for asking me. Iâd be glad to help.â
She scanned the students for the barista, not the easiest thing given her small height. But after a few seconds she managed to spot him, and grabbed Takashiâs sleeve, gently tugging him through the crowd.
âUm, Hideki-sanâŚ! P-please come with us!â
She wracked her mind for the best location she could think of for such a talk.
âUh⌠letâs go the the south study room. Itâs⌠quiet, and, um, more private.â
After what had recently happened, the north room wasnât quite her first pick, even though the riddle was likely to be gone by now. Besides, the south room was closer, anyways.
He couldnât sleep. He wouldnât be able to. He canât sleep. He wonât ever, ever be able to sleep anytime in the future until he ends up passing out in some random location (but, wait, isnât that against the rules?) He canât sleep, because this continues to happen. The murders, the executions, the motives⌠when will this end, is the sentence he finishes from when he couldnât in the trialâŚ
Itâs been two weeks⌠hasnât it? Two weeks of the neverending cycle. He had just witnessed death for the second time since heâs arrived. However, this was the fourth time heâs seen a dead body here⌠Moe Ito, Sunao Nanase, Hikaru Sato, and now, Tsukiko Takahashi. Tsukikoâs death had contained a sense of⌠bizarreness and unreality to it, and while it affected him less than Hikaruâs⌠it was still the straw that broke the camelâs back, so to speakâŚ
Hideki stops in his tracks when he hears Adeline call his name. He doesnât exactly know where he was going before he stopped walking, really â he just knows that he wouldnât be able to sleep if he went back to his dorm/apartment thing, and he didnât exactly want to sit around eitherâŚ
He turns around. His eyes visibly narrowed when he saw Takashi, though his face was otherwise blank. His feelings of irritation towards him had subdued when he met with him at the pond, but they all came flooding back at the trial. What did Takashi even want from him? Did he want to insult his character more than he already has?
He turns his attention to Adeline instead of Takashi, before he answers.Â
â⌠âŚfine.â
A conversation with the two people who knew his secret, huh�
Hideki agreed, which meant Takashi would have to tell. He set himself up for it, a social trap he would be unable to escape from. As the troop of forlorn and agitated students entered the room, Takashi waited and shut the door behind him.Â
âOkay, Takashi.â He whispered. âYou had your reason, just tell them.â He turned around to them, with their judging eyes. He feared both of their reactions, expecting them to be on the far of either spectrum side.
âHideki, I want to say Iâm sorry, again. I didnât mean to upset you that night, and I feel some of what I said may have been taken the wrong way. Um-â He sounded pitiful. Takashi could hear the voice of childish guilt coming out of him and visibly shook his head at himself. Â
âI donât want to know your secret. You have your right to privacy, and I shan't take it away or be upset at you wishing to keep it, or else we lose law. We canât have that.â Takashiâs hands curled up. His fingers twitched and rubbed against each other subconsciously. It was like he was writing something.
âIâll trust you... a bit more now, because we have to. I think, however, that you might need more convincing from me. My secret, which you already know part of, Hideki.â He couldnât open his eyes. Takashi was actually frozen. He dared not face Adeline, but he was able to keep speaking in direction to Hideki. âI wrote some- I forged something. It was very important, but-â No! It was not more important to Takashi. He was boy, but they were a man. More of a man than Takashi ever could study to be. Because it can not be studied, nor can it be wished for, or even in the field of things related, fished for. A man is something you are born to be.
Another guest, another flash of the screen. Whoever had come to visit the recently deceased had certainly expected something or another from selecting to see Moe in particular. Whatever it was, instead it was just her smiling face, ready to greet anyone whoâd come to see her⌠in particular.
ââŚHuh. Someone-â
âOh, hey. Sup.â
Hopefully this isnât too far from what they expected.
For once, Takashi wanted to sleep. His normal nightmares a trade for his current one. He finally did rest, but lo and behold! The brain was as much of a locked mystery as it was a century ago, so why under the circumstances it would replay this night over and over was beyond his area of expertise.
âOh, right, sorry... sorry. âNight.â
âNoh lright. yorr forry. Th night.â
âNot alright. Your folly. That night. Iâm not alright! It was your folly! You-!â
Takashi sat himself down in the VR chair at the ungodly hour of who the hell cares? Day and night were artificial in this place. Anyways, Takashi hated this machine. The entire first murder centered around it, and just like the images that served as the first motive, these people werenât real. They were dead, Anything said or done with them had no impact on theyâre life, because they no longer had one. Takashi wasnât even sure how close the resemblance would be to the original, or up to what point itâs memories would be, if it carried any. Takashi pulled the visor over his vision, and braced himself for the unknown.
â.........Huh?â
Unholy, is what this was. She was all too real, but the hat he knew was in the possession of Yukiko now, and the eyes, as authentic as they looked, could belong to anyone. They were the last thing he paid attention too while dragging her corpse out of the-
âHi, Moe.â And then a lot of silence. Keeping a feeble dam of an expression to hold back any others was difficult enough, but he had run a whole other mill on top of it to find talk that wasnât too heavy so as to break the expression as well. âHow are you feeling? Are you... aware of whatâs happened?â That dam near busted it right there.
Today, Takashi discovered a few facts pertaining to life here. There was one that made itâs presence known again and again, and that was Takashiâs unpopularity. There were more people that disliked, even hated, him than there ever were on Earth. He wanted so desperately to stop the murder, get everyone back home, and try to live decently again after witnessing these horrors. It wasnât about being the hero any more; proving his worth to others by being some white-coated knight. If another incident like Moeâs happens, he feared he may break.
Hideki was at the top of the list of people Takashi knew looked at him with negativity. Hideki undoubtedly hated Takashi more than anybody else here that was still breathing... or operating, which made the fact that he knew Takashiâs secret worse. It not being used as blackmail against his stubbornness in the trial was a miracle. Nobody must know the secret that brought nightmares, never ending, tormenting him for years. Takashi would not have that same torment in the realm of the awake. All of this is why it was so hard to put these words together for Adeline.
Takashi caught up to her in the hallway after the trial, but only after keeping a hand outstretched for some seconds while he arranged the words in his throat.
âA-Adeline, I need your help with something... someone, rather. Itâs regarding the secrets. I need to talk with Hideki, but I donât suppose heâll even part his lips facing my way when we arenât in a trial. Iâm not taking you to just be bait, by the way.. The reason why I ask you, specifically, is because you've been a very good friend to me, and I donât have damn near as many as I thought I would. You deserve to know.â
*sigh* âIt needs to be somewhere quiet... And, obviously, it needs to be with Hideki, if you know where he is.â Takashi couldnât spot him, but he also wasnât looking hard. He also wasnât looking forward to this. Those two things were related.
The votes are in, and Tsukiko Takahashi is out. Her screams still ring in your ears and the blood pooling on the execution floor is still warm. Once more, the horrors of the coliseum have been brutally shown. But the doors have yet to open; clearly, MonoMANU is not yet done.
There she was. Another life lost. Takashi knew that makes her an it now, but proper language could sometimes be ignored for the purpose of respect. So this was not a corpse, but still Moe Ito, and he prayed that she would forgive him for examining her body if it meant finding information that would help them find her murderer.
Takashiâs preemptive inference was that the missing clothesline could have been used to strangle, or perhaps bound the wrists together, both to make the drowning easier. The hands were clean, and the neck also free of marks, but in touching her head, Takashi found something else alarming and quickly pulled his hand away.
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âAh, no, the riddle Moe told us sounded completely different! I went like⌠uhâŚâ Neo scrunched up their face in thought, trying to remember the riddle. Apparently the memory processors were chugging a little slowly.Â
âIt went something like⌠A quiet haven, much lie a raven⌠et cetera et cetera-â They punctuated this with a rolling hand gesture, âIt was long, weâll remember it later. The point is, Neo was having a very hard time solving it! But Takahashi-san got it right away! Sheâs very smart. She said it was talking about the study room.â
They nodded decisively, certain that their recollection was correct. âThe book Ito-san found it in was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?- for the record Neo has never dreamed about an electric sheep. That would be so weird! And then she also said something about the Morpheus Lounge, but we canât remember whatâŚâ
âBut youâre right, Koiwai-san, we suppose there have been a lot of different reactions, huh⌠Neo is⌠well, weâre sad. Ito-san was our friend, just like Nanase-san and Tor- Sato-san. But⌠Neo also doesnât want to see another of our friends die.â
Unfortunately, there was not much they could do about that. Someone had to go, or else everyone had to go. To put it lightly, it really sucked.
Takashi supposed androids have the same memory problems as organics like him. Whether that was intentional to keep an authentic likeness, or a circumstantial fault that occurs in any machine as complex as a lifeform was unknown to him. He admitted inward that he barely payed attention to developments in the realm of artificial life, as interesting as it was. Speaking of interest, again Takashi finds himself surprised at the information heâs gathered doing laundry.
âReally? The poem I was told had to do with the pond. And these were poems found in a book?âÂ
He couldnât make sense out of the number of poems and how important they are, but Takashi does not buckle under challenge.The criminal wanted to play a game of pretentiousness with murder? Takashi would solve this riddleâs double-meaning, unless, of course, he is once again overthinking the situation.
âI know itâs cruel, Neo,â Takashi stated as he closed the gap between them, only trying to get to the door. âbut I will not hesitate to bring sentence a killer to death. After the last trial, this monster know full-well what they were getting into when they took the life of, out of all the students, Moe. I... hypothesize that Iâll look back on this when we return to Earth and hate my actions, but for now, Iâm adapting, and I suggest you do the same.â
Takashi bowed and smiled so slightly as he turned to walk out the door. âThank you, Neo. Itâs back to investigating for me.â
Neo frowned. Had Takashi seen something? They nearly asked, but paused in mid-breath. No, he was avoiding this topic. Maybe it wasnât a pleasant one for him. But then again⌠what if Takashi had set out the riddles in the first place and was avoiding the subject of what he had seen because he was guilty!?
If that were true Neo supposed it would all come out in the trial. They decided not to press just yet, but they made a mental note of it for later. Maybe that mental note would even survive til the trial.
âEr- well, last night Ito-san asked Takahashi-san and us a riddle. She said she found it inâŚâ They scratched their head, thinking. âRight! She found it in a book in the bookstore. It makes us wonder if there are more of them around hereâŚâ
âAs for Neo⌠We, ahâŚâ Were doing quite badly? Yes. âYou know. The same as everyone else,â they shrugged. âA-and yourself?â
Hold on. While Takashi had Neoâs attention, and was stuck in this room for the next - he looked at the timer - 10 minutes, it would be worthwhile to ask some productive questions. Heâd make the most of his - Takashi looked at the timer once more to check - 9 minutes, about.Â
âA book? Really? It seemed pretty specific. Explore. The shore. Depths deep. Donât sleep. Did the riddle in question sound something like that, or was it perhaps something different?â His answer to the riddle could have also been wrong, but Takashi would not accept that. The other statement made by Neo, albeit not as pertinent to the case of Moeâs murder, was just as questionable.
âHeh. Same as everyone? Seems to me like everyone has taken this in a different way. Iâve seen everything from students breaking down in tears to a complete disregard that a human life had just been taken.â He continued on ignorning the breaking of his promise to stop making sunder the human aspect of life. âThat being said, I can see you feel bad. Iâm sorry if what Iâve said has made my sentiment of that seem... anything but one of sympathy.â Just then the machine behind him dinged and the sound startled Takashi so much there was nearly another body to investigated. He began taking his coat out, and though the outside was still a bit damp (the damn thing must have turned inside out in Takashiâs haste) it would stop him no longer from helping solve the murder of his friend. Hopefully Moe, wherever she was, still thought of him as such.
