Mahou Shonen Just Say No Chapter Twelve

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"SugarcaneSugarcane!" Rose Elmore exclaimed, reaching her arms out for the distributor that she'd befriended as it jumped up into her lap.  It felt particularly gritty to the touch, as if its fur was completely full of sand, "Hey, it's been a few weeks.  Where've you been?"

"I've been around," It shook its head, leaning against Rose, "Two weeks ago, Oh One and I got news that some of our magica have gone missing.  We went back to Japan to investigate, since our teleports had charged again, but with no luck we came back here, since we did tell Lani that we'd be around for a while..."

Rose Elmore

"I missed you," Rose groaned, petting the thing, "You're so nice to talk to," Rose was a human, but unlike most humans, she was able; or rather, cursed to remember monster attacks even when they were defeated.  Usually, any humans caught in the pocket dimension would either die quietly at the monster's hands if it wasn't defeated in time, or forget about the attack if it was.  Rose was one of the few who recalled things which happened while the pocket dimension was active, and that was absurd at times.  She remembered dying several times. 

 SugarcaneSugarcane had been the one to explain to her why those situations happened, though it couldn't offer an explanation on how Rose was able to remember those things which most humans never did.  Nonetheless, it reassured her to know that it wasn't just nightmares or hallucinations of a bizarre kind, but actual incidents which went undetected by society.  Rose understood how humanity hated magica, if the only attacks that humans would remember were the ones that failed to be stopped.

A monster who was left unchecked for too long, or who killed off all of its combatants, would eventually fade out of existence, but not before causing a level of destruction similar to a strong earthquake or hurricane.  Rose had never experienced an undefeated monster, though.  For the past year and a half, since the monsters had first started attacking, there had always been Graveyard, and a couple of months later, Uamake, which was lucky as the monsters seemed to become more powerful.

Only Graveyard and Uamake, though.  Rose lived up in the more temperate, mountainous region of Hawaii, better known as 'The Big Island'.  Those two magica fought to protect the entire island chain, and they'd never failed to stop a monster.  Never forfeited or failed to engage, and obviously, never died.

As capable as they were, Rose worried, and she'd been thinking for a long time that she ought to do something, anything to help, but she'd never come in contact with a distributor.  Never until SugarcaneSugarcane came back to visit those two, who were both its magica, and happened to encounter Rose and her stand-out level of bizarre self-awareness in the midst of a monster attack.  After that, they'd become friends, but it had never asked Rose if she wanted to become a magical girl.

"There's been a lot of magica disappearing lately, huh?" Rose questioned, kicking her legs out over the fence she was seated on.  She lived on a ranch, and the cows wandering around in the pen behind her were friendly, even to the strange ugly cat, "I heard about it on the news, and now this..."

Sugarcanesugarcane said, "Yeah, that's true.  I'm really worried, actually.  Nothing like this happened in any of the universes I went to before, and Oh One contacted the council.  They've never seen anything quite like this, even in truly human universes.  All they told us was that things on this level of strangeness are common in this sort of world, but that they couldn't explain the actual situation in any detail."

Rose sighed, shaking her head, "Go figure, that our universe would end up getting so screwed up, yeah?"

Sugarcanesugarcane agreed, "None of us were prepared for this.  That's the scariest part of this all... We have no clue what we're doing, not really.  Every distributor in this universe has only ever worked with less-conscious universes in the past."

"...Hey, what makes you move on from one universe to another?" Rose asked.

"That depends.  Sometimes the universe doesn't need us anymore.  Sometimes, after centuries, the world ends.  The thing is, with this universe, we'll probably stick around for at least a thousand years.  The monsters will eventually become too strong to defeat anymore, and everything will fall to ruin... And we'll move on to another universe that's recently been introduced to monsters and magic."

Rose looked up at the sky before she gave another response, "So sooner rather than later, those things will get more powerful than Uamake and Graveyard can handle?  That website's saying that the island chain's in for a lot of level five and up monsters..."

"Why are you looking at Ribbon's site?" Sugarcanesugarcane questioned, but answered her question anyway, "That's right, though.  Those two are strong, indeed, Uamake is strong beyond belief... But even she has limits.  Her strength level is probably equal to that of a level six.  Fizzy Pop, Goddess, and Prince Horace are equal to a level seven; the only way to defeat a monster is through strategy, since magica can just barely rival their raw power.  Two magica could never defeat a level eight on their own."

"Can I ask my real question now?" Rose wondered, and SC gave her a nod in confirmation, "Why haven't you asked me to become a magical girl?"

"Isn't that obvious?" It stared up at her, "You became my friend, as a human.  You put your trust in something like me.  I'm not going to betray that trust by asking you to throw your life away.  You became my friend even knowing the type of creature that I am, I'm not going to play into the fears you may have had about interacting with me."

"Would I be worth it?" Rose asked, then paused and rephrased her question, "I mean, you know how much potential any given human has as a magical being, right?  Would it be worthwhile to make me one, or do I not have enough potential?"

"You have plenty of potential, Rose!" It flicked its tail, sitting up in her lap and looking up at her face, "A ton, actually!  And I know you well enough that I could even tell you what sort of power and weapon you'd probably end up with!  But it really is an awful thing, to be a magica.  We always feel so guilty when we create new ones, but it's better than all of us just starving, and all of this universe being destroyed by monsters at a breakneck pace.  I won't ask you to become a magical girl."

Third Eye

Rose hesitated a moment, bringing a hand up to her cheek, then took a deep breath and spoke again, "There can't be much worse than being a human who remembers monster attacks.  At least if I was a magica, I could do something about them."

"But if you were a magica, you could be killed and stay dead during the attacks."

Rose squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, "No, I'm going to do it!  I already have to suffer when monsters attack, and I want to be able to help Uamake and Graveyard.  They've been fighting alone for so long."

"If you're sure about it, then I won't try to tell you otherwise.  Just remember that you brought it on yourself and please don't blame me," It moved onto the fence beside her instead, looking her over, "Please, confirm in no uncertain terms your verbal consent to become a magical being."

"I want to become a magical girl.  I understand the ramifications of it and I will not pin any regrets I may have on my distributor friend," Rose confirmed, poking its nose.

"Very well then.  You will become the third protector of the island chain.  And, fittingly enough for that position, you will be Third Eye, the Sniping Magical Girl."

-----------------

Kanoshi was seated across from his father.

Though they'd kept in touch, it had been years since they'd seen each other in person.  Kanoshi was just so busy with work, and his father so busy with avoiding the city at any and all costs.  Those factors didn't exactly gel with each other, but now, here he was.  He didn't understand it.  He hadn't been going north of Tokyo.  He was headed south, to Nagasaki.

"Hello, Kanoshi," Shoyu Kyosuke wasn't the picture of the person who he was.  Nobody meeting him would ever think that he was riddled with anxieties too harsh to leave his hometown; he had a large frame, and his face had two settings.  Gentle, and stern, both strong and nearly-stoic images that would never give the impression that he feared anything, "It's been a while."

"Yeah, Dad.  It has," Kanoshi scratched the back of his head, looking away, "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize.  I always figured that we'd lose touch when you found somebody to rely on, but instead you only had your career.  You're nearly thirty years old and you've never even had a girlfriend.  Well, as far as you've told me," Shoyu said.

Kanoshi hesitated, but answered with a lie, "That's right.  I'm focusing on my work, that's all.  I don't need anybody to rely on, I just need to be somebody that other people can rely on."

Shoyu groaned, adjusting his hands on the cup of coffee that he held, "That was a test, Kanoshi, and you failed it.  Why can't you just be honest with me?  You know that I'll always support whatever decisions you make."

"Is that support because you support me, or is it because you're too much of a pushover to make the decision not to?" Kanoshi questioned, staring right at his father.  He took a deep breath before he spoke again, "Fine, if you want me to be honest with you, then I will.  I've never had a girlfriend, but since I've moved to Tokyo I've had a few boyfriends.  One was another teacher at Aoba Middle, one was a guy I met at the terrible sweaters store.  I also had a... something with a magical boy, and became one myself."

"I'm disappointed in you," Shoyu said.

"I know," Kanoshi closed his eyes and dipped his head, "Of course you are.  You always said that I'd make a great dad someday."

"Now you never will."

"I know," Kanoshi gave a solemn nod.  That was the truth.  It had always been his plan to, single or not, adopt a child once he was thirty-five.  He'd never pass the background checks as a magical boy, but... "Not legally, anyway."

"Son, I swear, if you steal a baby-" Shoyu started.

Kanoshi shook his head, "I'm not going to steal a baby!  I just mean, if I happened to find some wayward street urchin with nowhere else to go, what's to stop me from Dad-ing that child?  Maybe I can't adopt for real.  I'm okay with that, though.  If it happens, it happens, but I have other people I need to protect now.  You know that as a magical boy, I'm protecting you too, right?"

"I know that much," Shoyu said, leaning back in his chair "Yes, I understand that.  But here's the thing, Kanoshi.  If you needed to tell me all of that a second time, could you do it?  Could you look me in the eyes and say all of those things again?"

Kanoshi hesitated a moment, but steeled himself and gave an answer, "I could.  I don't know why I didn't do it in the f-first place.  I'm not ashamed of who or what I am.  I could say what I just said to you a million times over, to a million different people."

"That's true," Shoyu chuckled, "You could, I can tell.  Because you're strong underneath it all.  Because you're not me."

"I always thought I'd grow up to be just like you," Kanoshi noted, looking around the room, "Warts and all.  That I'd inherit your flaws, but also..."

"But also my virtues.  Unfortunately, you've failed time and time again to live up to the image of me," Shoyu sighed, then stood up from his chair, "But this is a conversation that could do you some good, were you to actually have it, son," With those words, he disappeared right before Kanoshi's eyes.

Kanoshi stared at the space where he had been, then took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the palms of his own hands.  So many people found it an inevitable horror, to end up the same type of person as their parents; he never had.  His father was a good man, and as Kanoshi forged his way on through the world, he began to doubt that he was the same.

Kanoshi stood up from the table and pushed his chair back in, then gathered his own untouched mug of tea (he always hated tea) and his father's, emptied.  He placed them into the sink, knowing his way around well.  This was his childhood home, after all.  He wandered to the nearest window and peered out, seeing that the outside world was vacant.  It was empty, a void.

That just confirmed what his father had said to him.  That wasn't really a conversation.  It was a chat with his own idea of his father, and this was some variety of dream.  It felt awful real for something which objectively wasn't, but who was he to make that call?  Instead, he decided to wander the house and see if there was anything else out of the ordinary.  As far as he was concerned, he was pretty sure he'd just fallen asleep on the next train, though he didn't recall boarding.  That wasn't unusual in any way, though.  It was easy to forget mundane things when dreaming.

Kanoshi took a deep breath as he stepped through the threshold into the hallway, looking down at the archway on the right which pointed into the living room, just beyond a door that belonged to a closet.  The left side had one door and a staircase towards the end, and that door held a bathroom.  Kanoshi doubted anything of interest would be in there, or in the closet, so he walked down the hallway, noting as he went the artwork which hung on the walls.  That was new.  His father never hung a thing on a wall, for fear of hurting the property values if he ever did sell the house.

He stepped into the living room and took a look around.  It seemed... Normal.  Just the same as it had ever been.  Nearly undecorated, just with essential furniture for the most part.  Kind of sad.  Kanoshi at least kept some knicknacks in his own home, and though he'd never gotten something as mature as a painting, he did hang posters and those inspirational canvas things.  With that in mind, he turned back to the hallway and decided to examine that artwork more closely.

They were out of place, and when he looked again, he realized that their subjects were out of place too.  What appeared at first to be simple, idyllic landscapes had something off about them.  There were small figures in the background, and when he squinted, they almost looked like people he knew.  Humans he knew.  As he moved from image to image, none of them were magica he'd met.  Other teachers from Aoba Public Middle, or students who he knew to have moved on to good high schools and, hopefully, good lives.  In these images, they looked mildly distressed.  Not afraid of anything, or distraught, but just a little uncomfortable.

Still, nothing changed when he finished looking through them, so he peered into the living room again, and much to his surprise, he saw two of the three students who'd been taken by the Vagrant Killer sitting there.  Ayano and Hikari.  He took a deep breath, then walked in and sat down directly across from the two of them, folding his hands in his lap, "Hello."

Ayano Ueda

"Hi, Kyosuke-sensei," Ayano greeted him, leaning against Hikari with her feet over the arm of the couch.  She wasn't a little child anymore.  Not an adult, either, but in between.  She was Sayaka's age, after all, though they both had a bizarre youthfulness that a worse man than him might call 'loli'. 

"How've you been?" Hikari asked as well.  She looked a bit more mature than Ayano, though their age was the same, since she lacked that childish quality, "Still teaching at Aoba?"

"I'm afraid not," Kanoshi shook his head with a heavy sigh, "After the incident with the three of you, when something else happened recently I got told I would be fired soon.  Then I became a magical boy, and got fired on the spot."

Ayano nodded, pushing her glasses up, then held out her right hand, showing a question mark on her palm.  Hikari did the same with her left as Ayano spoke again, "That's understandable.  It happens."

"Did you become magical girls to escape the Vagrant Killer?" Kanoshi questioned, looking between the two, "Wait, that doesn't make sense.  Magica didn't exist when Ueda-san first rejoined society..."

Hikari shifted where she sat, "You'll notice that Barasu-kun is missing.  We became magical girls to get revenge on the person who killed him.  I know you always tried to teach us not to hold grudges, sensei, but we couldn't let it slide."

"You... You mean to tell me that he really is dead?" Kanoshi said, leaning forward with his hands pressed to his knees, gripping the caps till his knuckles turned near-white, "He... I always thought, that if Ueda-san was alive, then all three of you were."

"How can you really believe that?  This is a dream and yet, we've told you it," Ayano giggled, bringing a hand up to her mouth, "Which means you believe it in part of your heart.  That is, unless this isn't a dream.  It's up to you, isn't it?"

"Don't say shit like that," Kanoshi shook his head, then froze and covered his mouth with both hands before uttering a sheepish, "Sorry, kids."

"I mean, it doesn't matter if what we're saying is real or not, does it?" Hikari questioned, straightening up, "Regardless of what happened.  We're either dead, or living in Hell.  You let us down, big time.  You let everyone down.  Us, and my brother, and the kids who got killed.  Everyone.  It doesn't matter how hard you tried, I challenge you to find a single person who doesn't feel let down by the school system."

"That's not possible.  It isn't, but that's not the fault of teachers.  I felt left down as a student, and I feel let down now, having been a teacher.  Still..." He sighed, bringing both hands up to his forehead, "You're right about that.  I wasn't as good a teacher as I could have been, and I guess it's probably for the better that I ended up needing to stop when I did.  I can't imagine I would have improved any."

"Do you think you could have saved me?" Another familiar voice sounded behind Kanoshi, and he turned to see Yuuri standing there.  He didn't look normal, however.  There was blood seeping through his clothing, and it seemed as if he was flickering in and out of existence as he stood there, his appearance changing a bit each time.  Occasional he was missing his right arm.  Kanoshi couldn't do anything for a while, just staring at him, trying to process what he was seeing.

"Ruka-san," Kanoshi stood up and walked around the armchair to approach him, brow furrowed in concern as he reached out for him, afraid to actually try and touch him out of concern that his hand would go right through, "What are you talking about?  What happened to you?"

Yuuri shrugged where he stood, leaning toward Kanoshi with a sickening grin, "I never told you that I failed to graduate high school, did I?  Yeah, you helped me get there, but I was too fucked up anyway and I got myself arrested.  Nothing you ever did could have been enough for me, and now I'm practically walking dead.  What happened to me?  What's going to happen to me?  What's the difference, sensei?"

"I guess there isn't any," Kanoshi sighed, shaking his head as he took a step backward, "I don't think I could have saved you, Ruka-san.  There's only so much that I could have done, and I did that much, and that's it.  That's all I've got.  It's not like I could go back in time and keep you from ever getting hurt."

Yuuri brought a hand up to Kanoshi's head, making contact and curling his fingers into his hair, pulling on it uncomfortably while that grin didn't change, "Why would you dare to get close to somebody like me?  Why would you even try?  Why in the world would you seek me out now, long after we knew each other?  Did you seriously think that you could do anything for me?  It's just a matter of time before I kill somebody.  That somebody could be you."

"You'd never do that," Kanoshi froze, staring into Yuuri's eyes.  Somehow, this was beginning to feel less and less like a dream.  It was feeling more real with every passing moment, but it still didn't make sense to him.  These were fake scenarios, that much he knew, but that was where the line blurred.  These weren't the type of worries that he would have come up with himself, even subconsciously.

Yuuri didn't offer an answer to that, and Kanoshi was lucky to see the gleam as he pulled a pocketknife from his jacket, moving directly for Kanoshi's throat.  He pivoted out of the way, then wrenched his head away from Yuuri's hand, turning to dash up the stairs.  As he went, he tore off his eyepatch and tried transforming which, to his surprise, worked.  With his shield, he had nothing to fear.

Downstairs, Hikari and Ayano were cheering Yuuri on as he chased Kanoshi up the stairs, lips pulled back to bear his teeth in a savage and cruel smile.  Kanoshi had to wonder if that was actually how he looked when he got in fights, as a human; he doubted it.  Yuuri had never seemed to derive any sadistic pleasure from fighting monsters, or other magica as it seemed in his short battle with Lionhardt.

For some reason, Kanoshi noted that Yuuri wasn't transforming.  In fact, his image had seemed to settle into the vision of him without a right arm altogether, thus missing his mark.  He bore down on Kanoshi, who blocked the knife swings without much effort at all.  It wasn't difficult, which seemed strange too.  Kanoshi knew that Yuuri's aim was his best combat trait, so it shouldn't have been this easy to deflect his attacks.

Still, he just kept coming.  He kept attacking, until he wasn't anymore.  Kanoshi found himself standing at the head of the stairs, though he'd been sure that he had been backing down the hallway.  On those stairs was Yuuri, sprawled over them midway down.  His limbs were all bent at unnatural angles, excluding of course, the missing arm.  His head was cracked open, the disgusting sound of blood as it dripped all the way down the stairs filling Kanoshi's ears.  He froze and looked at his shield, finding it similarly stained.

He hadn't done that, though.  He was just backing down the hallway, defending against Yuuri's attacks.  He wouldn't counterattack; that wasn't something that he would have done.  His breath caught in his throat as he backed up again, and he jumped in surprise as his back hit the wall behind him, whirling to find it really was just an empty wall.  He took a deep breath, then crept down the hallway again, opening a door to his left which led into what had been his childhood bedroom.  

It was still just the way he left it.  Devoid of most of his belongings, since he'd taken them to Tokyo with him when he'd moved out, but there were a few things about that he'd decided he didn't need to bring.  Extraneous clothing that he rarely wore, for example, leftovers of his high school style, before he discovered the joy of wearing really horrible sweaters and t-shirts with phrases that didn't make sense, when it was too warm for sweaters.

The biggest difference from the way that Kanoshi had left the room was that there was somebody sitting on his bed.  When she turned to look at him, he recognized her as Box Hako.  Her odd, lilac eyes seemed empty and devoid of feeling as she stared at him, seeming to look right through his soul.

"...Hako-san?" Kanoshi questioned as he stepped into the room, lowering his shield and holding up one hand with his palm out toward her.

"Hi sensei," Box gave a slow blink, then swung her legs out over the side of the bed to get to her feet, walking closer to him with deliberate steps, "What are you doing here?"

"This is my dad's house," Kanoshi answered, "I should be asking you that."

Box looked around for a while, then crossed her arms over her chest and turned her gaze to the floor, "I'm hiding.  That's the same reason you're here, right?  You're hiding because you hurt somebody without realizing it."

"That's right," Kanoshi groaned, leaning back against the door, "Well, I don't know what happened.  I don't think I hurt him."

"That doesn't matter," Box brought an arm up and tapped his nose, keeping her finger there, "Even if you knew you didn't hurt him, just thinking that you didn't is even more worthless.  The law isn't going to care."

"I'm above the law," Kanoshi shook his head, "Arresting a magical boy is basically impossible."

"That could change," Box noted, pulling her arm back, then gave him a smile, "But I guess that the police who are downstairs looking for you would be the lesser of two evils, compared to me.  I am a menace to the entire country of Japan, after all.  You have no idea what I could do.  How about I give you a headstart?  Run."

Kanoshi hesitated for only a moment before he turned and opened the door again, this time using the wings which came with his transformation to avoid needing to step over Yuuri's body as he made his way down the stairs, and noted that there were indeed police downstairs.  He barely even glanced at them before he returned to the living room, diving past Ayano and Hikari to crash through the window, out into the void.

There wasn't anything, even after Kanoshi had entered the darkness.  It was really just an endless stretch of nothing, as far as he could tell.  Pitch black.  He couldn't find any walls on either side of him, but there was a floor.  He flew up rather high and couldn't find a ceiling of any type.  With that in mind, Kanoshi continued along through the emptiness.  He floated for a little while, but then landed to walk instead.  Despite his transformation allowing for flight, it was still tiring.

It had almost freaked him out, the first time that he'd flown.  The cartoonish wings that were a part of his costume had full feeling in them, and it would be bizarre for anyone to suddenly have two more limbs than previously.  He'd gotten used to it eventually, but it had been strange at first, and he still preferred using his much more familiar legs.

As Kanoshi made his way through the darkness, he wondered if there was any reason to be out here.  He turned to see the house behind him, but it was gone.  There wasn't even a speck of light in that direction, and he couldn't go back.  Why would he want to go back, though?  There was more for him out in the dark unknown than disappointing familiarity.

After a few more steps, he got the feeling there was something in front of him.  To avoid bumping into it, he stuck his arms out in front of him, and before he'd even fully extended them his fingers brushed against a wall.  So there was something out here.  Kanoshi lifted his right hand to place his palm flat against the thing as he continued walking now, deciding that he should follow the rule of thumb for traversing a maze and cling to one side.

And there was a side to cling to; it was definitely not just one wall sticking out in the middle of nothing.  He just kept moving, following along on the right side.  He kept his shield in his left hand, ready to use it if something happened and he needed to.  It felt like a very long time before anything else happened, and when it did. it startled him.  He was just walking along when suddenly, something wrapped around his ankle.  He turned to see what it was, and found that he was being grasped at by the hand of somebody on their stomach.  He couldn't tell who it was with the lighting like this, though he was certain it was somebody else that he knew.

He kicked his foot and took off, wrenching free of the grip by taking to the air.  As he continued along he looked down at the ground and could see movement in the shadows, assuming that those were more people he'd met before, reaching out to grab at him.  He avoided them by staying up in the air as he moved, still keeping his fingertips against the wall so that he wouldn't end up going in circles.  As he was moving along, he suddenly felt something on his wing.

No, in his wing.  Something pierced straight through his left wing, and he turned his head to see what it was.  A purple sword, and it was glowing.  He hardly had time to realize who that weapon belonged to before he was jerked violently back by it, crashing down onto the floor.  The grasping bodies had disappeared from the ground, but Kanoshi would have almost preferred they hadn't, as it hurt much more to be dragged onto the hard ground.  He squinted at the blade and realized that it had pinned his wing to the floor.

He was breathing heavily now as he struggled against it.  He recognized this sword, of course he did.  It was Horace's.  Why was it here?  Why was he here?  If the sword was moving in this way, it had to be telekinetically controlled by Horace's power, which meant that he needed to be somewhere.  Kanoshi had to remind himself that this was not reality.  Box would not have been inside his father's home, and Yuuri would not have attacked him.  Well, not like that anyway.  Not so badly.  Kanoshi didn't doubt that something could go wrong, but he would never be able to block Yuuri's attacks that easily.

That was the real sticking point that assured him that the Yuuri who attacked him wasn't really him, and that extended to the entire place.  Kanoshi grimaced as he continued trying to free himself,  but he couldn't reach the handle of the sword, and grabbing onto the blade with his hands to try and pull it out would likely just cut his hands clean in half.

Moments later, he felt a weight on his back as a heeled boot dug into the area between his shoulderblades, pinning him down with his cheek pressed to the ground.  He grunted out, "Horace, why are you doing this?"

"Why wouldn't I?" The apparition questioned back in exactly the voice that Kanoshi was expecting of it, "I mean, it's not like you know enough about me to make an educated guess on what I'm capable of.  For all you know, I kidnapped the other magica and went off the grid with them.  The rankings really are arbitrary things, a bad person could get to number one by playing at morals and having enough power."

Kanoshi grimaced at those words.  That was far from what he thought about Horace, too.  More proof that this was a poorly constructed nightmare, but that didn't keep it from being a nightmare.  He spat back, "Yeah, right... If you were the kidnapper, like hell you'd have left me behind.  Maybe you can play at morals, but you can't play at how obsessed with me you were."

The apparition leaned more of its weight against him, and Kanoshi could tell that something in his back would break if this kept up.  He had some healing built up from blocking the fake Yuuri's attacks, which luckily seemed to have held the same level of malicious intent as these current assaults, but he wasn't going to use it until he was freed, since that would just be a waste of power.  The false Horace hissed, "I already ruined your life, I can end it too."

"Like that would have an effect here," Kanoshi taunted back, though he wasn't actually sure.

Fake-Horace pointed his other sword at Kanoshi's eye.  Shit, he forgot there were two swords.  It growled out, "If I killed you here, then you'd never see the light of day again."

Kanoshi had enough of this.  He forced his leg under himself to get some traction against the floor, managing to lay enough of his sole flat against the floor to push off.  The apparition of Horace lost his balance, falling to the floor.  There was a terrible tearing noise as the sword which was pinning Kanoshi's wing down went straight from the center through to one side with the force of his movement.  He'd utilized his free wing to get enough force to manage it, but it was just one burst of movement before he fell over, rolling up against the wall.

He took a deep breath, tightening his grip on his shield as he healed his injuries, though it seemed the damage to his wing would mostly have to heal on its own.  He was able to resolve the damage that had been done by the false magica, but the tear that he'd created in his escape was an injury with an altogether different intent that he couldn't resolve with his powers.  There were some limits to it, after all.

Much to his surprise, the image of Horace didn't pursue him, seeming to have disappeared in full.  Moments later, the wall behind Kanoshi but a little further to his left lit up in a bright explosion, which in the flash of light, revealed behind him the grasping bodies, now clearly corpses.  Among them he spotted a number of magica besides Horace; There were the ones that he knew personally, excluding Yuuri.  Sayaka in particular looked to have died a gruesome death; there were also some he'd never met, and the one he'd met for only a few moments, Lionhardt.

Somehow, looking at all of these, he felt a heavy guilt.  He didn't know why; for some of them, it was simple, he'd made promises to protect the people close to him.  Why should he feel guilty to see the body of someone who'd only met him in combat for a few moments of vicious attacks?  He didn't have long to think about it, because in the faint glow of the lingering flames on the heavy wooden wall was his father.

"Come on, Kanokun," The voice didn't belong to the man who spoke, but it was a comforting one nonetheless, and Kanoshi stood to follow him without hesitation.

Next Chapter ->

Checkboxes Chapter Twelve

<-Previous Chapter

<--------First Chapter

Fucko promised yesterday that it would give me answers soon, and I suppose I'm enough of a wet noodle to allow that to placate me for the time being.  I don't feel bitter about it, though.  Not in the least bit, which may seem strange, but it's good enough for now just to be assured that there are answers for me, even if I can't be provided with them yet.  It's like wondering if you'll be receiving a birthday gift, and then being assured that there is one on the way, but the shipping's been delayed so it will arrive a little late.  In the meantime, I just need to listen to what it decides I should do next.  Today is Tuesday, so I won't be able to talk to anybody in the Light Music Club after school.  

I know that Fucko will tell me who I'm supposed to be talking to, but I can't help but try and figure out who it could be each day that I'm supposed to have a conversation with.  I have to assume it's somebody I haven't talked to much yet, so maybe one of the other members of the occult club...

Wrong.

I don't need this.

Anyway, the real situation is this.  At lunch, you should speak with Maka Nishikikouji, then after school you'll want to have a conversation with Shizuka Inbo.

Oh, Maka.  We haven't talked much yet, just a few passing words on the school trip and when she was in the science room yesterday.  I'm sure Fucko won't give me direction on where she eats her lunches, so I decide to go searching for her instead and find that she's sitting under a tree in the courtyard, eating french-fries out of a takeout box with chopsticks.  I walk up to her and crouch down, then sit cross-legged a few inches from the ends of her feet.  She sets her chopsticks down and pulls her mask back up over her face from around her neck before she speaks, "Ah, hello, Hako-chan... What brings you here?"

"I just want to have a conversation," I shrug, pulling out my own lunch from my bag.  It's leftovers from last night's dinner.  Rice and grilled chicken were good warm with fresh vegetables, but I mixed in some seaweed salad to have it cold today, "Is that okay?  You can keep eating.  It's fine if I see you without the mask on, right?"

"It's rude..." Maka mumbles, then startles in place and waves a hand around as she corrects herself, "Rude to you, not rude to me!  The mask is a symbol that I stand for protecting the girls of this town, you included, so to remove it in your presence feels like I'm saying that I don't intend to protect you, which isn't the case at all..."

"Is that why when we all ate together the first day in Kyoto, you all kept your masks on?  I thought you were just scared of city germs," I note.

"Nope," Maka shakes her head, "It was out of respect for you and Shorty-chan."

"I see Kaiba-san's nickname rubbed off on you," I chuckle, feeling a bit bad for Sayaka.  I am glad that Kaiba doesn't know me well enough to come up with an embarrassing nickname for me, but then again, Sayaka didn't seem too bothered by it.  It's all in good fun, it seems, "I don't need protecting, though, so it's fine.  You can eat with convenience instead!" I lean towards her, 'Why are you eating fries with chopsticks, though?"

"Oh, that's simple," Maka answers, lowering her mask at my permission, then holds up her right hand, "I grew up in a place that taught me the left hand is unclean, and it's kind of ingrained.  I'm left-handed though, and the first knuckles on my right hand don't move.  All I can do is flex the fingers themselves and move my thumb, I can't do anything like make a fist or do fine-motor tasks.  Picking up finger food is impossible, too, so I just use utensils.  They exist to be used, after all, I may as well use them even if it's for a less conventional purpose."

"That makes sense," I agree, starting to eat my own lunch, "Where did you get that, anyway?  I didn't think there was any western takeout in town."

Maka glances at the bag, and I note that there's not even a logo yet, it's just a brown paper bag, "It's a new place. I heard about it, and decided to try it.  Here, try some!  I think it's pretty good, though I'm not exactly a meat connoisseur."

"That is good!" I am not a meat connoisseur either, though.  In fact, I am not a connoisseur of anything, "I bet everyone here would be happy to hear a place like that's opened up in Korekara, you should spread the word!" 

"I wish I could," She shrugs, stretching out, "But, you know, I don't have a lot of presence at all.  It's hard to get anyone to pay attention to me in the first place. I think you're actually the only person outside of No Boys who has ever acknowledged me.  It's a shame... I even do my best to stand out.  I dyed my hair, and I tie my neckerchief, and I wear yellow shoes.  None of that seems to get me noticed, though.  Kaiba-kun says it's a skill, and I guess it is, but I would still prefer to have a different skill than natural stealth, maybe?"

I shrug, "It happens.  People end up in situations that aren't preferable all the time, but you know, I do think that it's important that you find a way to use your talent for a good cause.  If you have a unique ability, something that most people need to learn to do but that you're naturally good at?  Use it to help people, then do what you really love to do for yourself."

"Are you in a situation which isn't preferable?" She questions, and I freeze.  Am I?  Would I prefer to be anything other than following Fucko's instructions?  I guess it depends.  Somebody would need to be doing what I am, instead.  I'm using my talent to help people just the same as I just told Maka to do, and I'm proud of myself for it.  It's still strange to think what I'd be doing if this burden belonged to somebody else instead.  Probably just sticking to Amai all the time, like when we were little kids.  Or, if I'd never been in a coma, with her and Hiromi and Sayuri.  It's for the better, though, that we went our separate ways, so I'm not even sure now that I'd want that change.

"No," I answer, and it's the truth.  My situation is preferable.  I wouldn't want to have any other responsibility than this.  I wouldn't want to be anyone else but me; and having a different experience would have made me a different person than I am right now.  I'll let time take its course to decide who I'm going to be, and I won't change that.

That same fate which seems to desire the deaths of all your friends?

I wouldn't mind if somebody else changed my fate.  And I'll change the fate of others, too.  I would never do anything, though, to try and alter the path I'm supposed to take as a person.  And it really does feel like the path I'm meant to take, at least for now, is the one that Fucko's leading me down.

----------------

After school, I set about looking for Shizuka, as I was instructed to speak with her today.  She isn't anywhere I'd expect her to be, though.  Nowhere to be found, even, when I start looking in the places that I would not expect her to be.  How am I supposed to follow my instructions if the girl I need to speak with is not around?  Nobody's even seen her that I ask, so I decide to ask Kemuri.  She'll know if Shizuka left the campus, anyway, though I'm not sure how I'm supposed to speak with her if she's not even around.  Unfortunately, even she has no clue where Shizuka could be.  I'm thinking about giving up, since Fucko's once again giving me the 'telling you the details would break the rules' schtick.  I don't understand how the rules are more important than me actually completing my goal, though.  I sigh and sit down against the wall in the hallway.

"Hako-san?" Somebody questions, and I look up to see Iwako standing over me.  She's standing as if somebody taped a ragdoll to a stick, in contrast to her usual sharp posture.  I guess she's not trying to be intimidating right now, "What are you doing here?  Are you waiting for somebody?"

"No, I was looking for Inbo-chan, but nobody's seen her today.  Doctor, do you know where she is?" I question, standing up to look her in the eyes with my hands behind my back.  She only holds eye contact for a moment before glancing away.

"I-Inbo-san...?" She stutters.  I never took the doctor for the type of woman to stutter.

"Yeah," I nod, "Shizuka Inbo.  I guess I can't just assume you know who everybody in the school is though, huh?"

She pauses a moment, taking one deep breath before she answers me, "I do know who Shizuka Inbo is.  She's not the first in her family to attend this school, however.  I'm sorry, I was remembering her elder sister..."

"Oh, her sister attended?" I ask, pushing against the ground to get to my feet, brushing the dust off the front of my skirt.

Iwako hesitates, then gestures for me to follow her, turning back around to enter the infirmary again.  She unlocks it, her movements slow and unrefined.  This seems very unlike her.  I follow her into the infirmary, and she closes the door behind us, then just throws the key onto her desk.  She pushes her glasses up her nose before she speaks again, "I can trust you, right?"

"I'd like to think I'm trustworthy," I answer.

"It isn't a matter of you being trustworthy," Iwako shakes her head, "It's a matter of me being able to trust you.  There's a big difference there.  I know you're trustworthy, but I also know that you're talking to a lot of people.  I don't know if you would keep quiet if you learned of a crime."

"I definitely would.  I have, so far," I nod, "I would never tell the police about a crime.  Usually crimes aren't that bad.  When they are bad, it's better to leave things to the vigilantes.  Incarceration rates may be high in this country for people who go on trial, but indicting can be a problem for a lot of the things which I think are actually terrible to do."

"In that case, I suppose I can tell you.  You've been informed of Yui Asahi, and the rest of her graduating class, yes?" Iwako asks, and I nod, so she continues, "Inbo-san's elder sister was in that class.  She was a nice girl, but everything was so chaotic for that class.  Sasane... Well, Ikimura-sensei, she wasn't assigned to that class that year.  The english teacher at that point was a woman named Mercury Mars.  We thought she was trustworthy, but it seemed she engineered the downfall of that class, since she disappeared shortly after Asahi-san's death.  Meiko Inbo was one of that year's innocent victims."

"Oh..." I mumble, shifting between my feet, "So it's because of that teacher, what happened to them that year?"

Iwako shrugs, "We never could have known that.  We only suspect her because she disappeared without a trace in the end of it all.  Everyone said she was a good teacher, they liked her.  I guess we're only even pinning it on her because we don't want to believe that everything would have happened without her there.  The public release blames Yui Asahi, though, because... We didn't want to admit that we'd made a mistake in our hiring process."

"Some people think that it's a conspiracy," I note.

"I don't blame them, it's pretty conspiratory," Iwako gives a bitter chuckle, "Meiko was murdered by one of her classmates, and Mars-san brought her to me in a panic.  I wasn't able to save her... So I killed her killer.  I contributed to the loss of that class.  It was this day two years ago, that Meiko died.  So, I sent Inbo-san home early.  She came to me looking for advice on her mental health, and all I could do for her was tell her to go back to her house and rest."

"Doctor," I ask, taking a step towards her, "Can you tell me more about the class of 2015?"

"I can't," Iwako shakes her head, "I wish that I could, but there's more important things for you to be worrying about right now.  I'm sure you'll find out more about them someday in the future, but I'm sure you have things to focus on.  Oh, you wanted to speak with Inbo-san, right?" She turns to her desk and scribbles something out on a scrap of paper.  Her handwriting is awful.  She hands me the paper, "Her address, assuming she didn't go back to her family home."

"Thank you, Doctor," I nod, then look down at the paper.  I should have expected that Shizuka doesn't live in one of the dorms, given she comes from such a rich family.  I recognize the street name, though, so I get going.  It's still close enough to the school to walk, though it may take me a while.  Half an hour of walking at a brisk pace, a while, it turns out, but I find myself in front of her home.  It's quite large, but not as big as I expected it to be.  I knock the door, and I don't get an answer, but it swings open.  I frown and step inside, even though that's probably a bit rude of me to do.  I don't see her anywhere.

Just investigate, it should be fine.

I think it's weird to just wander around somebody's house, uninvited, trying to find them... But I'll do as Fucko says.  It turns out that though the house is large, the rooms are not; the first floor consists of a fairly normal layout, with a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and empty bedroom which I'm assuming is the one that Shizuka uses.  Upstairs, however, just seems to be made up entirely of small rooms off of branching hallways, each one with a different theme.  They don't appear lived in at all, more like photographs of fake houses used to advertise things in catalogs.  As I'm searching through all of these different rooms, I eventually stumble across the one that Shizuka's actually in, though I don't say anything after opening the door.  She seems to be on camera right now, which makes sense.  I know she makes gaming videos and streams.  The room is themed like an ultra-cute kitchen, and it looks like she's playing a cooking-themed game.

So I now understand the nature of all of these rooms.  She's really dedicated to her gaming channel, it seems.  I like seeing that; it's a nice reminder, when I'm trying my best to help everyone through their traumas, that everyone is also working hard at those talents which they all have.  That's what Natsuki was saying to me yesterday.  Everyone here is recognized for excellence, but there are still, for some reason, dangers.

As talented as everyone at Korekara is, that excellence had no future for them before being invited here.  As long as the faculty can twist it around when releasing information to the media, there's nothing to be done but accept it.  It's survival of the fittest.  We fail, then we die.  We succeed, then we go on to rise above the rest.  It's a test of youth.  Even with the declining birthrate, nobody really wants anyone who's incapable of contributing society to continue living here, even if they say they're better than that.

I understand it, now, but I won't fight it.  I'll go with the flow, honestly, because I'm the same as everyone else.  I don't want anybody to die.  But were I told that somebody did something self-destructive and died because of it, and that a certain place just gathers up the people who'd do that kind of thing, I wouldn't blame the place which gathered them.  I'd feel bad, and wish it didn't happen, but being told that it's someone's own fault, what sort of outrage could I muster?  Even when I might be targeted by this same type of media manipulation someday, I'm not angry at all.

Ten minutes later, after I've gone to wait in the hallway, Shizuka walks out of the recording room and sits down next to where I'd slid down to sit on the floor.  Neither of us say anything for a while, until she speaks up, playing with her hands in front of herself, "Hako-senpai.  Why did you come here?"

"I was looking for you after school today," I shrug, "Then Same-Hakase told me this was the anniversary of when your sister died at Korekara two years ago, and gave me your address."

"Meiko..." Shizuka sighs, looking up at the ceiling, "We were going to share this house, before that happened..."

I have to take time to think before I speak again.  I want to avoid being disrespectful, "Why did you decide to attend Korekara after it killed your sister?"

"Korekara Academy didn't kill Meiko," Shizuka answers with a shake of her head, "How could you blame the school for what happened to her, when it was just one student?"

"That's what everybody does," I note, "Korekara Academy is dangerous, that's the opinion."

"Everywhere is dangerous," Shizuka mumbles, crossing her legs, "The whole world is just full up with danger, and there's nothing to be done about that.  Just because certain places get a reputation... That doesn't mean they really are any more dangerous than others.  It just means that the truth has been made clearer there.  Meiko could have been killed just as easily while on a train, or in our own family home.  So of course I won't blame Korekara Academy.  Anyone who does is an idiot."

I stay quiet for a while longer again, sitting on my hands.  Trying to explain the way that I feel about our school, "Well, of course it's not the school itself, but I hear things.  People think the faculty have a hand in it all."

"I don't care if they do," Shizuka answers, glaring at the far wall, "I don't.  I blame only the person who killed Meiko, and she's dead too.  It's closure, I have closure.  I'm not going to open myself up to other possibilities when I'm already content in what I have.  Of course I'm still grieving!  Anybody would," She hisses, then returns her tone to a mellow one, "Why would you bother theorizing that more people are against you than probably are?"

Shizuka has a good point, and it's one that I haven't heard before.  Now that I think about it, it's probably important that she disregard conspiracy theories and worst case scenarios, as somebody whose made a name for herself on the internet.  So many people look to her for entertainment, so many people looking to criticize her every move.  It goes beyond the raw skill she needs to play games well on stream, she also has to give them charisma and a collected appearance.  To let herself think for even a moment that the people she works so hard for might be after her head, I can only imagine that would be unbearable.  

That definitely provides some perspective to the idea that ignorance is bliss.  That saying always seemed strange to me before, but I can understand it as it relates to this particular situation.  Maybe that's why Amai is always talking about how weird things are common knowledge.  She'd rather be ignorant and blissful than admit that something's wrong.

"Anyway," Shizuka starts again, eventually, as she stands up, "Since you're here anyway, I guess I may as well make two portions for dinner..."

"Oh, it's fine, you don't have to!" I'd hate to impose, "My parents actually live in Korekara too, so I can always eat dinner with them.  I did show up unannounced at your house and just walked in and went searching for you.  I think I've caused you quite enough trouble for one day."

"Trouble?  I mean, I have to cook my own food anyway.  The least you could do to make all that up to me is let me actually be a good host for once in my life," She rolls her eyes, then holds a hand out to me.  I take it and stand up, then she goes downstairs to the real kitchen rather than the prop one, and I follow.

"So what game were you playing?" I ask, deciding to make small talk now that the heavy topic's out of the way.  I still don't know quite what Shizuka's real reason for being invited to this school is, it can't be a result of Meiko's death given they were planning to live together when Shizuka arrived.  My earlier decision still stands, though.  I won't press her on the matter, because she has better friends to open up to.

"Huh?  Oh, I set up my wii in there.  I was working on one-hundred-percent completion on Cooking Mama.  I guess that's not really an impressive game, but I think after completing a no-deaths stream of Dark Souls I deserve to play something a little less hardcore," She shrugs, opening up the fridge, "Is it fine if I make pasta primavera?  I have a lot of vegetables I need to use before they rot."

"Sounds good to me," I nod, "I mean, you're being nice enough to offer me dinner, you don't have to ask me what I'd like... Make what you want to, and I'll eat it."

"Pasta Primavera indeed," She decides, pulling out several bell peppers and cherry tomatoes from her fridge.  Most grocery stores outside of metropolitan centers only carry produce in season, so I'm a little surprised to hear that she's got two vegetables whose seasons are decidedly not October.  I guess when you're rich you can get any type of food you want anytime, no matter where you live.

Shizuka's food is good, though obviously not mind-blowing like Amai's is.  That's only to be expected, since her talent is video gaming and she isn't even in the cooking club.  It's still pretty great, and I would almost say it's unfair that she actually has two talents, but she's just so much better at the one she was admitted for that I wouldn't call them comparable.

Either way, her food's better than either of my parents', and way better than anything I could do myself, given that I learned almost nothing spending my first year in the cooking club.  I really was mostly just in it to spend time with Amai.  I'd have joined it again when I got back, probably, if not for Fucko's instruction to aid at the infirmary.

I'm glad that I am the infirmary aid, though.  Iwako is actually nice, at least to me, and she seems to have information about the class who all died.  I also get the feeling that she knows what Fucko and I are trying to do, since when I started asking about that class she told me that I have more important things to worry about right now.  I guess she's right about that.

---------

"Apollo, come in," The communicator inside my ear buzzes with those words, waking me from sleep.  I sit up and rub my eyes.

"Apollo here.  Roxie?" It could be any number of a few different people, but I'm pretty sure I recognize her voice, "What do you want?"

"Don't be rude," She continues.  I stand up and wander around the room, pacing despite the fact that I've been advised against moving around too much for the time being.  Something about it wearing away on my joints until later on.  I can't say that worries me much, though, and talking on the phone while sitting still just feels very tedious, "Do I have to want anything to contact you?"

I freeze where I stand, then deadpan, "Yes."

"Well, I don't," Roxie says, shocking me, "I don't need anything from you, I just wanted to update you on the situation.  Everything is proceeding just the way that Fucko wants, though the subject is beginning to become curious about unrelated matters, such as how the AI knows what needs to be done, or what happened to the class of 2015.  You still have some influence, right?  Do you think you could push her back on track?"

"Influence or no influence, it's impossible to change what she thinks.  Now, why is it a problem if she wonders about those things?  Is the control function broken?" I question, tapping my fingers on a desk as I lean against it, "I thought I witnessed it working just yesterday."

"Witnessed?" Roxie questions.

"This is what happens when you don't check in, Roxie, you don't even know what sort of options I have at my disposal.  This whole place is wired with security cameras.  Collaboration between Kira and the club," I can't help but taunt her as I power up the monitors again, just to check them.  I don't expect to see anything but Sakazaki and Yamiko around the school grounds in the middle of the night, but I may as well have a look around, "Very useful asset, as long as we don't let it fall into the wrong hands.  Lucky for us, Sakazaki Yuu is the only possible leak, and our esteemed president has her under control."

"Are you sure that Kira's not the wrong hands?" Roxie asks, and I think about that for a moment.  Well, we couldn't have gotten these set up without permission from the headmaster, so it's not like that's even a relevant part of the equation.  Roxie continues speaking, though, "And isn't it very suspicious for you to be spying on an all-girls' school like this, Apollo?"

"As a man, yes.  As me, Apollo, no.  As men go I'm not exactly on the scale of likely to peek at the girls' locker rooms," Just as I say this, I notice something on one of the screens.  That's... Odd.  I expand it to the full monitor rather than just the quarter it was taking up to get a better look, and just as I was worried, there's somebody standing in the middle of the courtyard, wading in the fountain, "Hey, Roxie?  Any info on an unidentified student who stands in the fountain on this night?"

"You know where I get my data, right?  What possible reason could she have ever had to witness this?" Roxie questions, and I realize that she's right.  This is a variable we couldn't have possibly predicted, and unknown variables have a habit of throwing things off.  I realize what I have to do.  There's only one option, I can't go investigate it myself.  I have to outsource.

"Roxie, I'm gonna have to call you back," I say, then hang up on her before making another call.

"...Hello?" Sakazaki questions, answering without a hint of grogginess.  It's nearly two in the morning, she should be asleep.  Then again, she is a disaster.  I'm pretty sure she's been drinking from the pitch of her voice, but I can just hope it's been a light beer night rather than any heavier liquor.

"Yuu-senpai," I refer to her with respect despite not technically being her underclassman.  I'm still younger than her, "It's Apollo.  We've met once before.  I need you to take on a mission for me."

"A mission?" She questions.  Good, I've piqued her interest.

"In the courtyard right now, there's a girl wearing the Korekara uniform who has waded into the fountain at the center.  I can't make out her identity.  Think you could find that out for me?"

"Can do, Apollo sir!" Sakazaki agrees, and stays on the line as she makes her way out to the courtyard.  I watch her on the cameras, though I keep my focus on the courtyard camera.  The girl standing in the fountain hasn't moved.  Sakazaki arrives in the courtyard, then approaches the fountain.  Since the only way to identify the girl is to see her face, and to do so would require shining a flashlight at her, Sakazaki doesn't bother to be stealthy.  She moves to the edge of the fountain then calls out, "Hey, you!  What's the big idea?" The girl in the fountain turns to face her, and she exclaims immediately, "T-Tomoe-chan!?"

"Saka...zaki..." I can hear Tomoe through the communicator as she steps toward the wall of the fountain, reaching out, "Please, don't make us... go back there..."

"Us?" Sakazaki asks a clarifying question, and on the  screen I can see another silhouette behind her.  The frame is human, but the slow, creeping movements like a cat stalking its prey.  Animal and unnatural.  I act on instinct.

"Yuu!" I shout, "Get out of there, now!"

"H-Huh?" She questions, then Tomoe grabs for her wrist.  She avoids it and starts running, only for both of them to chase after her.  Tomoe's legs hardly seem to be moving, but she's keeping up with the other's savage movements.  As she's running, Sakazaki yells back at me, "It's Tomoe and Nami, but... it's not them!  Apollo, they're Class X agents, aren't they?? What are they doing here!?"

"Good inferring," I can't help but praise her observation, "They're definitely not human.  Nami and Tomoe Kaguya died gruesome deaths, and-"

"That's the thing," Sakazaki continues, checking the doors as she goes for one that's not locked which she could hide inside, "Tomoe's got an eyepatch, it's on the same eye that those thugs-  That she got hurt.  You have any clue what the Hell those scientists are up to this time?"

"You're more in with 'Assis-co' than I am at this point," I answer, "I know less than you do.  If I had to hazard a guess, though, Kira sent off the bodies for experimentation.  Maybe they're being controlled by AIs.  Robots in flesh bodies," It's the only theory I can think of, since I know that those scientists haven't dabbled in demon magic since Ren Massou-Kobayashi turned up dead.  Given the fact that Fucko could, if it wanted, take complete control of Box's body means it's also entirely possible that a corpse could be managed by an AI, if all organs and the like were restored to normal working order first.  I can't imagine Doctor Same could manage a process like that, since she splits her time between surgery and chemistry, but there's always Doctor Martin... 

"I really fuckin' hate Kira sometimes!" Sakazaki sounds like she's on the brink of tears, but manages to get one of the doors open.  The infirmary.  She shuts it tight behind herself, and locks it.  There's one loud crash against the door as the thing which used to be Nami tries to get inside, but then the both of them give up and instead make a break for the school gates, both escaping into the night and out of my field of vision.  Don't make them go back there.  Were they trying to force Sakazaki to help them escape?  Why were they at Korekara in the first place?  I run back through the footage from earlier in the night, and my suspicions are confirmed.  Certain cameras were disabled for a short time.  Whoever created those two wanted to show them off to Kira.  Further investigation of the footage proves to me that they must have escaped from Kira's office, but probably received some sort of halt command which was only broken when Sakazaki appeared.

I worry about that.

Things have been going so well.  Box is doing so well.  I'd hate for Fucko to have to start all over again.  I call Roxie again.

"Please put the appearance of Class Experimental agents Nami and Tomoe Kaguya into your permanent databank.  Maybe we'll know what to do about them the next time around."

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